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-ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH  CAPTAIN. 


This  rather  grotesque  Ceremony  east  the  Colony  several  bottles  of  Rum. 


THE    ADVENTURES 


OF  A 


FRENCH    CAPTAIN, 


AT  PRESENT  A  PLANTER  IN  TEXAS,   FORMERLY 
A  REFUGEE   OF  CAMP  ASYLUM. 


BY 

JUST    GIRARD. 


TRANSLA  TED    FROM     THE    FRENCH 


THE    LADY     BLANCHE    MURPHY. 


SEW  YORK.  OmOtKHATt,  AKO  0H10AC0. 

BENZIGER    BROTHERS, 

Printers  to  the   Holy  Apostouc  See. 


Copyright)  1878,  by  Benziger  Brothers. 


CONTENTS. 


mm 

Introduction 7 

CHAPTER  I. 

A  Sketch  of  my  Life  up  to  the  Date  of  my  Landing  at 
Baltimore, 17 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  Tournel  Family — My  Stay  in  Baltimore,       .  .    VJ 

CHAPTER    III. 

Troubles  of  the  French  Refugees — Grants  ol  Land  by  Con- 
gress— Speculations  of  American  Capitalists — Proposed 
Settlement  in  Texas — General  Lallemand's  Address  and 
Petition  to  the  Court  of  Madrid — Silence  of  the  Court — 
Execution  of  the  Plan — Meeting  of  the  Refugees  at 
Philadelphia — Monsieur  Tournel's  Views — I  decide  upon 
throwing  in  my  Lot  with  the  Texas  Settlers,  .         .        -43 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Departure  from  Philadelphia — Arrival  at  Galveston — Tem- 
porary Stay  on  an  Island — The  Pirate  Lafitte — The  Rio 
Trinidad  —  The  Settlement  of  Camp  Asylum  —  First 
Troubles — Military  Organization  of  the  Settlers — Forts 
and  Trenches — Manifesto  of  the  Camp  Asylum  Refu- 
gees— Its  Effect  in  Europe — Subscriptions  for  the  Refu- 
gees— Occupations  of  the  Settlers — Monsieur  Collin — 
His  Plans — I  give  him  a  Letter  to  Monsieur  Tournel — 
Camp  Life — Amusements — Treaty  with  the  Indians — 
General  Lallemand  chosen  "Great  Chief" — Ball  given 
to  the  Inhabitants  of  San  Antonio  de  Bejar,  .        .        .58 

CHAPTER   V. 

Sad  Condition  of  the  Colony — Monsieur  Tournel's  Letter — 
Treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United  States — The  Policy 
of  the  Two  Governments — Expulsion  of  the  French  from 
Camp  Asylum — Retreat  to  Galveston — Sufferings  of  the 
Colonists — Sickness — Storm  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 


CONTENTS. 

PACa 

inundation  of  the  Island — Dangers  Run  by  the  Settlers 
— Departure  of  the  Sick  for  New  Orleans — I  leave  with 
some  of  the  Settlers,  intending  to  reach  Louisiana  by 
Land— Fate  of  those  who  had  gone  by  Sea — Marengo 
County  and  Eaglesville,  on  the  Tombeckbee — Final  Dis- 
persion of  the  Refugees  of  Camp  Asylum,      .        .        -77 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Journey  from  Galveston  to  the  Headwaters  of  the  Sabine — 
My  Costume — Our  Life  on  the  March — A  Buffalo  Hunt — 
The  New  Mazeppa, 9) 

CHAPTER   VII. 

A  Sad  Awakening — I  fall  into  the  Hands  of  the  Indians — 
My  Journey  to  the  Comanche  Village — I  am  presented 
to  the  Great  Chief — A  New  Actor  on  the  Scene — Effect 
produced  by  my  Decoration  and  my  Standing  as  a 
French  Officer — I  am  constituted  the  Guest  of  the  Tribe,  105 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Michael  Gournay,  the  Canadian — Manners  and  Customs 
of  some  of  the  Indian  Tribes,    ......  125 

CHAPTER   IX. 

My  Stay  with  the  Comanches — War  Rejoicings — Departure 
of  the  Warriors  on  the  War-path — I  wish  to  leave  the 
Village — The  Indians  oppose  my  Wish — Attack  on  the 
Village  by  a  Body  of  Spanish  Soldiers — I  go  back  to 
Louisiana  with  Gournay .  136 

CHAPTER   X. 

We  reach  the  Frontiers  of  Louisiana — An  Unexpected 
Meeting — A  Caravan  of  American  Emigrants — I  meet 
the  Tournel  Family  and  Monsieur  Collin — New  Scheme 
for  Colonizing  Texas, 154 

CHAPTER  XL 

I  join  the  Emigrants  and  return  with  them  to  Texas — Our 
Settlement  on  the  Rio  Brazos — The  War  of  Indepen- 
dence^— The  Prosperity  of  Texas,  ....  16$ 


THE   ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN 

Were  related  to  us  by  the  hero  of  the  tale  himself,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  last  visit  to  Paris.  The  interest  we  felt 
in  them  led  us  to  hope  that  they  would  prove  equally 
interesting  to  our  young  readers,  and  theretore  we  have 
worded  them,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  the  Captain's  own 
language. 

In  order  to  render  the  taie  more  intelligible  and  more 
useful,  we  have  thought  it  well  to  preface  it  by  a  short 
topographical  and  geological  notice  of  Texas. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Texas*  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  New 
Mexico,  Indian  Territory,  and  Arkansas,  on 
the  east  by  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  on  the 
west  and  south  by  Mexico,  and  on  the  south- 
east by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Red  River 
is  its  northern  boundary,  the  Sabine  its  east- 
ern, and  the  Rio  Grande  its  western  limits. 
Its  shape  is  very  irregular,  but  its  extreme 
length  from  south-east  to  north-west  is  more 
than  800  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  from 
east  to  west  about  750  miles,  including  an 
area  of  237,504  square  miles. 

This  country,  inclining  to  the  south-east,  is 
divided  into  three  distinct  zones  or  regions : 
that  of  the  mountains y  that  of  the  prairies, 
and  that  of  the  plains.  The  mountainous  zone 
covers  the  north-western  part  of  the  State,  and 

*  It  was  once  known  as  Fredonia,  but  its  Indian  name  of  Texas 
superseded  the  other. 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

includes  the  Sierra  San  Saba,  a  spur  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  which  is  one  of  the  great  moun- 
tain-chains of  Mexico. 

Except  toward  their  summits,  which  are 
barren  and  rocky,  these  mountains  are  covered 
with  splendid  forests  of  pine  and  oak,  besides 
numerous  shrubs,  and  broken  by  well-watered 
valleys  that  want  nothing  but  the  hand  of 
man  to  make  them  yield  their  treasures 
readily. 

The  prairie  region  is  the  intermediate  part  of 
the  country,  and  its  undulating  surface  of  table- 
land reaches  from  the  foot  of  the  mountains  to 
the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  the  northern 
boundary  of  Texas.  Here  the  vegetation  is 
rich  and  abundant. 

The  region  of  the  plains  follows  the  coast- 
line, but  encroaches  more  or  less  on  the  in- 
terior; thus  on  the  banks  of  the  Sabine  it  is 
only  forty-eight  miles  wide,  while  on  the  San 
Jacinto  it  is  one  hundred  and  twelve  miles 
wide,  and  as  much  as  one  hundred  and  sixty 
on  the  Colorado.  This  zone  is  marvellously 
fertile. 

Texas  is  one  of  the  best  watered  countries 
in  the  world.     The  rivers  are  so  deeply  sunk 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

between  high,  rocky  banks,  that  there  is  never 
any  fear  of  those  frequent  floods  which  form 
swamps  and  perpetuate  miasmal  diseases.  Like 
most  North  American  rivers,  they  are  full  of 
rapids,  which,  however,  it  would  be  easy  to  re- 
move, should  steam  navigation  be  soon  applied 
to  all  the  watercourses.  The  principal  rivers 
are  the  Rio  Grande,  which  from  its  source  to 
its  mouth  runs  a  course  of  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  miles ;  the  Rio  Nueces  (or  Nut 
River),  about  three  hundred  miles  long;  the 
Rio  San  Antonio  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
the  Guadalupe  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
miles  long;  the  Colorado  River  (which  takes 
its  name  from  the  red  deposit  left  by  the  rains 
coming  in  contact  with  the  oxide  of  iron  of 
the  soil)  is  about  eight  hundred  miles  long. 
To  judge  by  the  government  surveys,  this 
river  is  navigable  a  distance  of  several  hundred 
miles. 

The  Rio  Brazos,  called  Rio  Flores  in  the  old 
maps,  rises  in  the  north-western  part  of  the 
State  and  empties  itself  into  the  Bay  of  San 
Bernardo,  after  a  course  of  five  hundred  miles. 
The  Trinity  River  is  at  least  four  hundred 
miles  long,  though  some  explorers  declare  it  is 


K  INTRODUCTION. 


more ;  it  is  certain,  at  any  rate,  that  steam- 
boats can  go  up  stream  two  hundred  and 
forty  miles.  It  was  on  the  banks  of  this  river 
that  the  French  endeavored  to  found  a  colony  in 
1818.  They  named  it  Camp  Asylum.  We 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  it  later  on.  The 
banks  of  the  Trinity  River  are  high  and  well: 
wooded  ;  building  timber  especially  abounds, 
and  the  land  on  both  banks  is  rich  and  fruitful. 
Lastly,  there  is  the  Sabine,  the  boundary 
between  Texas  and  Louisiana,  a  river  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  navigable  at 
all  seasons  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
from  its  mouth.  The  coasts  are  much  cut  up 
by  bays  studded*  with  islands  and  divided  into 
lagoons.  A  little  north  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Grande  is  the  Laguna  Madre,  ninety 
miles  long,  and  ending,  at  its  northern  ex- 
tremity, in  the  bay  of  Corpus  Christi,  which  is 
forty  miles  from  north  to  south  by  twenty 
miles  from  east  to  west.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  bay  is  a  long  island  called  Isla  del  Padre. 
Farther  north  is  the  bay  of  Aransas,  from 
thirty  to  forty  miles  long  and  sixteen  wide 
The  muddy,  shallow  bay  of  Espiritu  Santo 
into   which   flow   the    San  Antonio    and    the 


INTRODUCTION  II 

Guadalupe,  is  partly  formed  by  the  island  of 
Matagorda,  which  is  ninety-six  miles  long  and 
only  ten  wide.  The  bay  of  Galveston,  into 
which  flow  the  San  Jacinto  and  the  Trinity 
River,  extends  about  thirty-five  miles  inland 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  a  direction  nearly 
north.  Ships  drawing  twelve  feet  of  water 
can  find  easy  anchorage  in  it.  The  coast-line 
is  rounded  off  by  the  bay  of  the  Sabine,  so 
closed  that  it  is  almost  like  a  huge  lake,  into 
which  flows  the  river  of  that  name. 

The  island  of  Galveston,  formerly  San  Luis, 
which  extends  across  the  entrance  of  this  bay, 
is  nothing  but  a  sand-bank  accumulated  by  the 
strong  tides.  It  is  forty  miles  long  and  four 
wide,  and  rises  only  twelve  yards  above  tho. 
level  of  the  sea.  Its  surface  is  covered  with  tall, 
rank  grass,  a  few  mimosas  and  cactuses,  and 
some  marine  plants.  On  this  sand-bank  the  new 
city  of  Galveston  has  lately  been  built ;  it  is 
an  Episcopal  See,  and  the  most  important 
seaport  town  in  the  State. 

The  climate  of  Texas  is  delightful.  The 
region  of  the  plains  is  the  hottest ;  the  temper- 
ature is  about  the  same  as  in  Louisiana,  but 
infinitely  healthier.     The  sea-breezes  cool  tho 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

air  a  little  in  summer.  As  you  proceed  north- 
ward, the  climate  grows  better  still.  In  winter, 
from  the  15th  of  November  to  the  15th  of 
January,  heavy  rains  fall  incessantly,  and 
moisten  the  earth  to  prepare  it  for  the  next 
ten  months.  Sometimes  a  little  sprinkling  of 
snow  falls,  but  it  never  remains  on  the  ground. 
The  spring  begins  in  February ;  the  summer 
in  April,  and  lasts  till  the  end  of  September. 

The  three  zones  of  Texas  and  the  varied 
climates  they  afford  are  sufficient  proofs  of  the 
existence  of  an  equally  rich  and  varied  vegeta- 
tion. To  the  south  and  south-west  are  magnifi- 
cent forests,  containing  timber  invaluable  for 
ship-building.  Among  these  trees,  we  may 
notice  the  oak,  the  Carolinas  poplar,  the  ash, 
the  cypress,  the  red  cedar,  the  acacia,  the  chest- 
nut, the  linden,  the  pine,  the  sycamore,  the 
sumach,  the  maple,  the  cherry-tree,  etc.,  etc. 
In  the  heart  of  the  virgin  forests  rises  the 
beautiful  magnolia  grandiflora,  often  reaching 
a  height  of  a  hundred  feet.  The  gum-tree  and 
india-rubber  tree  grow  abundantly  on  the  banks 
of  the  Colorado,  but  their  produce  has  been 
hitherto  neglected. 

Different  varieties  of  the  tea-shrub  have  been 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

cultivated  on  the  banks  of  the  San  Antonio ; 
they  yield  as  good  tea  as  that  which  comes  from 
China.  The  mulberry  grows  well  in  Western 
Texas ;  cochineal  and  indigo  have  been  tried 
with  success  ;  tobacco  is  of  a  superior  quality, 
and  the  sugar-cane  yields  two  harvests  a  year. 
The  cotton-plant  succeeds  splendidly  in  Texas, 
and  often  grows  to  the  height  of  five  feet.  This 
plant  will  doubtless  become  a  source  of  great 
wealth  to  Texas,  as  it  grows  to  a  finer  quality 
and  more  abundantly  than  on  the  most  favored 
soils  in  the  United  States.  An  excess  of  its 
produce  is  the  only  danger  to  be  feared. 

The  sugar-cane  of  the  Tahiti  species  yields 
saccharine  matter  four  or  five  months  after 
planting,  and  gives  two  harvests  annually.  Corn 
grows  here  to  perfection,  and  the  great  prairies 
round  San  Antonio  de  Bejar  are  peculiarly 
suited  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat.  Mulberry, 
indigo,  and  tobacco  have  all  been  successfully 
tried,  and  among  the  forest-trees,  the  live-oak 
may  be  mentioned  as  one  of  the  best  for  ship- 
building. 

The  geological  formation  of  Texas  is  very 
suitable  for  the  raising  of  stock.     The  wide 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

prairies,  covered  with  thick  grass  for  six  months 
in  the  year,  harbor  numberless  flocks,  which 
ramble  at  wijl  through  the  unenclosed  pastures, 
with  nothing  but  the  mark  of  their  various 
owners  to  distinguish  them. 

If  Texas  has  not  mines  of  gold  and  silver, 
like  Mexico,  it  has  what  is  yet  more  impor- 
tant for  civilization — i.e.,  iron  and  coal.  There 
are  rich  iron  mines  to  the  north  of  the  Sabine, 
and  all  along  the  foot  of  the  Ozark  Mountains. 
The  bed  of  the  Rio  Brazos  yields  iron  ore, 
and  the  plains  and  canons  between  the  Brazos 
and  the  Colorado,  granulated  iron.  Iron  and 
coal  must  contribute  to  the  prosperity  of  Texas, 
where,  as  in  the  States,  railway  communication 
is  becoming  the  only  means  of  transport  for 
passengers  and  merchandise. 

The  great  plantations  and  factories,  and  all 
the  towns,  whether  old  or  new,  or  recently 
mapped  out,  are  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
various  rivers.  There  are  Goliad,  formerly 
Bahia,  and  Bejar,  on  the  San  Antonio,  old 
Spanish  towns,  the  latter  of  which  retained 
its  importance  till  very  lately  as  an  entrepot 
between  Louisiana  and   Upper  Mexico.     But 


0 


INTRODUCTION.  1 5 

the  principal  towns  are  on  the  brazos,  the 
Colorado,  and  the  Buffalo  Bayou.  Here  are 
San  Felipe  de  Austin,  the  cradle  of  Texan  in- 
dependence, a  town  of  six  thousand  inhabitants ; 
Houston,  a  city  only  twenty  years  old,  but 
which  is  a  standing  witness  of  the  growing 
prosperity,  civilization,  and  luxury  of  Texas ; 
Austin,  the  capital  of  the  State,  built  on  the 
banks  of  the  Colorado,  and  which  is  now  ahead 
of  all  the  present  settlements,  and  will  soon  be- 
come one  of  those  cities,  on  a  large  scale  and 
of  beautiful  proportions,  which  distinguish  the 
States  of  North  America. 

Among  the  other  important  towns,  whether 
old  or  new,  we  may  mention  Bonham,  Castro- 
ville,  Corpus  Christi,  Crockett,  Fredericksburg, 
Hortontown,  Indianola,  Marshall,  Nacogdo- 
ches, Palestine,  Richmond,  Washington,  Vic- 
toria, Liberty,  etc. 

The  Texans  divided  their  republic  into  thirty- 
two  counties  when  they  first  proclaimed  their 
independence,  but  the  present  number  of  coun- 
ties is  one  hundred  and  twenty-four.  When 
the  French  refugees  came,  forty  years  ago,  to 
found  the  colony  of  Camp  Asylum,  there  were 


J&  INTRODUCTION.     ■ 

not  in  all  Texas  ten  thousand  inhabitants  of 
European  descent.  At  present,  there  are 
nearly  four  hundred  thousand. 

Paris,  1858. 


Note. — The  population  of  Texas,  according  to  the  census  of 
1870,  was  eight  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand  eight  hundied 
smd  ninety-nine. — Translator. 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH  CAPTAIN, 


CHAPTER     I. 

A    SKETCH     OF     MY    LIFE     UP     TO    THE    DATE    OF 
MY    LANDING    AT    BALTIMORE. 

I  will  speak  but  briefly  of  the  first  years  of 
my  life,  and  come  to  the  point  when  circum- 
stances occurred  which  made  it  advisable  for 
me  to  leave  France  and  seek  a  new  home  in 
America. 

I  was  born  at  Paris  in  1792,  and  was  only 
seven  years  old  when  I  had  the  misfortune  of 
losing  my  mother.  My  father  soon  married 
again,  and  his  new  wife  made  me  feel  my  loss 
more  keenly  still  by  her  unkind  conduct 
towards  me.  She  absolutely  hated  me,  and  to 
please  her  my  father  sent  me  to  school  at  St. 
Germain ;  for  any  school   in  Paris  would  have 


1 8         ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

been,  to  my  step-mother's  mind,  too  much  of  a 
substitute  for  home.  I  remained  at  school  ten 
years,  during  which  time  I  saw  my  father  only 
two  or  three  times,  and  was  never  allowed  even 
to  come  to  Paris.  You  see  that  I  learned 
very  early  what  it  is  to  be  an  exile. 

My  education,  such  as  it  was, was  finished  in 
1809.  Napoleon  I.  was  then  in  his  greatest 
glory,  and,  like  most  young  men  of  my  age,  I 
dreamed  of  nothing  but  military  honors,  so  that 
when  my  father  asked  me,  on  my  leaving  school, 
what  calling  I  should  like  to  choose,  I  unhesi- 
tatingly said,  "  I  wish  to  be  a  soldier."  He 
was  quite  willing,  and  I  enlisted  the  very  same 
day.  Next  morning  he  took  me  to  Versailles 
to  join  the  depot  for  recruits  for  my  regiment, 
and,  having  recommended  me  to  my  immedi- 
ate officer,  he  thrust  into  my  hand  a  purse  con- 
taining twenty  gold  pieces.  He  embraced  me 
affectionately  enough,  and  left  me  to  myself.  1 
never  saw  him  again. 

His  coldness  cut  me  to  the  heart,  and  tears 
started  to  my  eyes  as  I  saw  him  go ;  then  I 
vehemently  anathematized  my  step-mother  for 
having  deprived  me  of  my  father's  love.  But 
at  last  my  home  sorrows  were  forgotten  in  the 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  1 9 

new  life,  the  varied  occupations  and  constant 
drill  of  our  camp.  In  a  fortnight  I  was  sent 
off  with  a  detachment  of  recruits  to  join  the 
main  body  of  my  regiment  in  Spain. 

I  remained  in  the  Peninsula  until  our  army 
was  forced  to  evacuate  it,  and  when  I  returned 
to  France  I  had  been  promoted  to  a  lieuten- 
antcy,  after  going  through  every  step  leading 
to  that  grade. 

Though  my  father  had  evinced  so  little  af- 
fection for  me,  I  nevertheless  kept  him  au  con- 
rant  of  my  successive  promotions.  His  answers 
to  my  letters  were  short  and  cold,  and  only  one 
— that  which  I  received  on  my  promotion  to 
the  rank  of  commissioned  officer — was  differ- 
ent from  the  rest.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  he 
wrote  affectionately  and  warmly,  as  became  a 
father,  I  was  deeply  touched,  and  wrote  back 
to  tell  him  how  his  unexpected  kindness  filled 
my  heart  with  love  and  gratitude ;  but,  alas ! 
he  died  before  my  letter  reached  him,  and  the 
sad  news  was  communicated  to  me  by  the 
family  solicitor,  who  wrote  to  me  on  business, 
asking  my  instructions  as  to  the  division  of  the 
property  and  my  step-mother's  dowry.     Thus 


20  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

I  only  learned  to  know  my  poor  father  just  as  i 
lost  him  forever. 

Other  troubles  soon  crowded  upon  me.  The 
Anglo-Spanish  army  followed  closely  at  our 
heels,  and  invaded  the  southern  provinces  of 
the  empire,  while  the  rest  of  the  allied  Euro- 
pean forces  overran  the  northern  and  eastern 
departments.  After  a  last  stand  against  the 
English  under  the  walls  of  Toulouse,  we  learned 
the  news  of  the  emperor's  abdication,  the  fall 
of  his  dominion,  and  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Bourbon  dynasty.  I  soon  after  heard 
from  official  sources  that  I  had  been  placed  on 
the  half-pay  list. 

This  was  a  blow  that  destroyed  every  hope 
of  my  heart,  for  I  was  fit  for  no  career  but 
the  army.  I  .had  no  home  ties,  no  interest, 
even,  to  keep  me  in  France,  and  my  first  idea 
was  to  leave  a  country  which,  according  to  my 
political  opinions,  I  could  no  longer  serve,  and 
from  which  I  could  not  expect  any  consideration 
Filled  with  these  thoughts,  I  went  to  Paris  to 
take  possession  of  whatever  my  parents  might 
have  left  me,  and  to  make  arrangements  for  a  de 
parture  for  the  New  World. 

In  my  ignorance  and  impatience,  I  thought 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CaP^AIN.  II 

that  all  I  should  have  to  do  would  be  to  pre- 
sent myself  at  the  solicitor's  office  and  take 
immediate  possession  of  my  share  of  the  inher- 
itance ;  but  I  had  reckoned  without  my  host, 
or  rather  without  my  step-mother,  who  was 
such  an  adept  at  intrigue  that  the  winding  up 
of  our  family  affairs  was  spun  out  over  the  space 
of  ten  months.  All  was  not  yet  definitively 
settled,  when  we  were  startled  by  the  news  of 
Napoleon's  landing  at  Cannes,  his  entrance  into 
Grenoble,  and  his  march  on  Lyons. 

I  gave  up  my  projects  at  once,  joined  a  few 
comrades,  on  half-pay  like  myself,  and  rushed 
to  meet  our  emperor.  We  met  him  at 
Chalons,  in  the  midst  of  a  goodly  army  and 
an  enthusiastic  population,  who  hailed  him  as 
a  deliverer.  We  accompanied  him  to  Paris, 
and  a  few  days  later  I  formally  took  service 
under  him  as  a  captain.  I  was  so  happy  at 
this  new  turn  of  affairs  that  I  even  showed  my- 
self most  accommodating  towards  my  step- 
mother, accepting  proposals  which  a  fortnight 
before  I  had  peremptorily  declined,  and  con- 
senting at  last  to  take  but  a  third  of  what  in 
reality  was  my  own.  My  mother's  fortune,  of 
which  my  father  had  retained  the  use  after  his 


22  ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

second  marriage,  came  to  sixty  thousand 
francs,  while  my  share  of  my  father's  personal 
property  was  about  twenty-eight  or  thirty 
thousand  francs.  I  consented,  however,  to  be 
put  off  with  thirty  thousand,  all  told,  and  gave 
a  receipt  for  that  sum,  twenty-five  thousand  of 
which  I  left  with  my  solicitor,  taking  five 
thousand  to  equip  myself  and  to  celebrate  with 
my  comrades  the  return  of  our  beloved 
emperor. 

We  believed  in  nothing  less,  for  at  least  two 
months,  than  in  the  most  brilliant  success.  We 
should,  doubtless,  again  begin  that  series  of 
wonderful  military  expeditions  which  for  twenty 
years  had  made  Europe  tremble  and  proved 
the  superiority  of  our  arms.  I  saw  myself  in 
imagination  performing  a  heroic  part  in  this 
drama  of  future  conquests  and  unchecked  suc- 
cesses, decorated  with  the  successive  degrees  of 
the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  wearing  the 
bullion  epaulets  of  a  colonel,  then  the  starred 
ones  of  a  general,  and,  who  knows  ?  wielding 
one  day  the  baton  of  a  marshal  of  the 
Empire ! 

Amid  these   golden    dreams,  the  campaign 
opened.     My  regiment  was  luckily  engaged  in 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  23 

the  very  first  battles;  at  Fleurus  we  bravely 
carried  a  position  no  less  bravely  defended  by 
a  Scottish  regiment.  I  had  pushed  on  first 
with  my  company,  and  for  a  moment  we  were 
surrounded  by  the  brave  Highlanders ;  the 
next,  our  regiment  came  to  our  rescue.  But  the 
emperor  himself  had  noticed  the  feat,  and, 
during  the  review  that  followed  the  battle,  he 
called  me  to  him,  and  gave  me  a  decoration 
with  his  own  hand.  It  is  impossible  to  tell 
you  how  delighted,  how  proud,  I  was  that  day  ! 
My  dreams  were  beginning  to  come  true,  and 
from  that  moment  I  never  doubted  the  entire 
realization  of  them. 

The  wakening  was  abrupt  and  terrible.  The 
fatal  day  of  Mont  Saint  Jean  came  upon  us, 
scattering  our  bright  hopes  and  plunging  me 
into  a  worse  despair  than  had  been  mine 
six  months  before.  I  followed  the  army 
of  the  Loire  in  its  retreat,  and  when  it  was  dis- 
banded, my  thoughts  turned  again  to  my  orig- 
inal plan  of  emigrating  to  America.  Passing 
through  Orleans,  which  was  then  in  the  hands 
of  the  Prussians,  I  got  into  a  quarrel  with 
some  of  the  German  officers  in  a  res- 
taurant ;    a   duel  would  have  been  the   conse- 


^4       Adventures  of  a  French  captain. 

quei-Hje,  had  not  the  French  police  interfered 
and  carried  me  off  to  prison.  I  must  say  that 
rixi  idversaries,  the  Prussian  officers,  did  their 
bf  t  to  obtain  my  release,  but  the  royal  officials 
f  iitefully  brought  me  before  the  police  court, 
ipon  a  charge  of  illegally  wearing  the  cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  I  had  already  sworn 
to  the  circumstances  under  which  I  had  re- 
ceived this  decoration.  After  a  month  of  pre- 
cautionary imprisonment,  I  was  released,  as 
having  acted  without  malice,  but  I  was  recom- 
mended henceforth  not  to  wear  the  cross 
illegally  given  me  by  the  usurper,  and  no 
"  brevet  "  of  which  could  be  found  on  the  records 
of  the  chancery  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

This  prohibition  to  wear  a  decoration  so 
well  deserved,  and  received  from  the  very 
hands  of  the  founder  of  the  order,  was  more 
galling  to  me  than  an  imprisonment  of  months 
or  years  could  have  been.  But  what  could  I 
do  ?  The  country  was  in  a  ferment,  there  was 
violent  ill-will  on  the  part  of  the  government 
against  all  those  who  had  in  any  way  been 
connected  with  Napoleon's  return  from  Elba, 
or  who  had  helped  to  uphold  his  falling  throne. 
Labadoyere  and    Marshal  Ney  had  just   been 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  2% 

shot.  The  lives  of  the  Bonapar cists  were  in 
danger,  and  those  who  had  been  lucky  enough 
to  escape  the  decree  of  proscription  had 
gladly  exiled  themselves,  in  hopes  of  better 
times. 

My  resolve  was  soon  taken.  I  left  Orleans, 
spent  just  time  enough  in  Paris  to  get  my 
money  together,  and,  having  procured  a  pass- 
port, took  ray  passage  for  England.  In 
London  I  met  many  of  my  comrades  in  war 
and  in  misfortune,  especially  the  colonel  and 
two  other  officers  of  my  old  regiment.  The 
former,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  my  affair  at  Or- 
leans, offered  to  write  mc  a  certificate,  signed 
by  himself  and  his  brother-officers,  setting  forth, 
on  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses,  how  my 
gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Fleurus  had 
been  recognized  and  rewarded  by  the  emperor 
himself.  "  This  will  perhaps  supply  the  place 
of  the  missing  '  brevet,'"  he  said,  "  and  may  even 
help  you  to  obtain  it  some  day.  At  any  rate, 
you  can  wear  your  decoration  in  safety  here ; 
no  one  will  dare  dispute  your  right  to  do  so." 

I  thanked  him  and  gratefully  accepted  his 
offer.  He  was  right ;  for  this  affidavit  has 
helped  me  to  obtain,  since  the  Second  Empire, 


26  ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

the  regular  brevet  granted  to  all  members  of 
the  order  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

Perhaps  it  may  amuse  you  to  see  how  much 
importance  I  attach  to  a  bow  of  red  ribbon, 
and  you  may  think  me  foolish  not  to  have  given 
up  such  baubles  after  forty  years'  sojourn  and 
citizenship  in  a  republic  where  these  distinc- 
tions are  unknown.  Well,  there  you  are 
mistaken,  for  I  think  all  the  more  of  my  dec- 
oration, not  only  because  it  is  a  glorious 
souvenir  of  my  early  life,  but  because  it  has 
been  the  means  of  securing  me  the  friendly 
offices  of  many  a  savage  tribe,  and  of  heighten- 
ing very  considerably  the  esteem  and  love  in 
which  I  am  now  held  by  my  republican  neigh- 
bors. 

We  took  our  passage  on  the  first  ship  that 
sailed  for  the  United  States.  The  colonel,  how- 
ever, could  not  accompany  us,  as  he  wished  to  go 
straight  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  had  some 
relatives  living.  Our  ship  was  bound  for  Bal- 
timore. For  my  part,  I  had  no  preference  and 
would  have  gone  to  New  York,  Boston,  or 
New  Orleans  as  soon  as  to  Baltimore,  but  we 
should  have  had  to  wait  another  month  for  the 
ship   chat  went    to   Louisiana,    and   I   confess 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  2 J 

that  I  was  in  a  hurry  to  leave  the  shores  of 
Europe.  We  had  a  smooth  passage,  and  landed 
safely  at  Baltimore,  in  the  month  of  April, 
1816. 

I  had  begun  to  study  English  during 
my  stay  in  London,  and  continued  to  do  so 
during  the  passage,  as  I  was  sure  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  English  would  be  indispensable  in  the 
United  States ;  but  though  my  friends  and  I 
had  made  some  little  progress,  I  fear  we  should 
have  felt  very  homeless  on  our  arrival  in  Balti- 
more, had  we  not  found  there  a  little  French 
colony  which  another  revolution  had  stranded 
in  that  city.  They  had  formerly  been  colonists 
of  San  Domingo,  and  had  been  driven  from 
that  island  by  the  negro  insurrection  in  1 794- 
95.  and  had  then  sought  shelter  on  the  hos- 
pitable shores  of  the  Union. 

Most  of  them  were  in  needy  circumstances 
very  few  comfortably  off,  but  one  and  all  re- 
ceived us  most  cordially  and  proffered  us  the 
most  hearty  welcome.  We  were  only  ten  in 
all — six  officers,  two  officials  compromised  in 
the  Lavalette  affair,  and  two  employes  of  the 
War  Department,  wThose  political  creed  had  ren- 
dered them  objects  of  suspicion  to  the  French 


28  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

Government.  After  a  whispered  consultation, 
ten  of  the  principal  colonists  came  forward,  and 
each  took  one  of  us  immigrants  home. 

A  lucky  chance,  or,  I  should  say,  a  special 
providence,  gave  me  as  a  host  a  certain  Mon- 
sieur Tournel,  formerly  a  rich  planter  of  San 
Domingo,  now  a  small  hardware  merchant  in 
Baltimore.  To  him  and  his  prudent  advice  do 
I  owe  it  that  I  escaped  the  lamentable  fate 
which  overtook  the  greater  number  of  my 
comrades  in  exile  and  adversity,  and  later  on  I 
owed  to  his  kindness  in  admitting  me  to  his 
family  circle  all  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
which  are  now  mine. 

Before  I  go  on  with  my  story,  I  must  give 
you  a  sketch  of  this  truly  patriarchal  family, 
by  which  I  was  welcomed,  on  my  arrival  in 
the  New  World,  not  merely  as  a  guest,  but 
rather  as  an  old  friend,  nay,  even  as  a  brother. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    TOURNEL    FAMILY MY    STAY    IN" 

BALTIMORE. 

Monsieur  Tournel  was  a  man  about  forty, 
of  medium  height  and  good  proportions  ;  his 
complexion  was  of  that  creamy  pallor  peculiar 
to  the  West  Indian  Creoles,  for  his  family,  of 
French  origin,  had  been  one  of  the  oldest  set- 
tlers in  the  island  of  San  Domingo.  They  had 
owned  the  richest  and  largest  plantations  until 
i  794,  when  the  revolt  of  the  blacks  entirely 
swept  away  their  fortune  ;  the  negroes  burned 
their  crops  and  sacked  their  house,  nay,  even 
massacred  his  mother  and  sister  before  his  very 
eyes.  He  himself  was  wounded  in  defending 
his  father,  whom  he  succeeded,  however,  in 
rescuing  alive  from  their  hands.  They  both 
reached  the  coast,  threw  themselves  into  the 
first  boat  that  they  found,  and  cruised  about  un- 
til picked  up  by  a  Spanish  ship,  which  carried 
them  to  Havana. 

Here  they  remained  three  years,  hoping  that 


30  ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

France  would  re-conquer  San  Domingo,  and 
that  they  themselves  would  be  restored  to  their 
former  position.  The  disastrous  ending  of 
General  Leclerc's  expedition  soon  blasted  their 
hopes,  and  Monsieur  Tournel,  senior,  unable  to 
bear  the  shock  of  repeated  mishaps,  fell  ill  and 
died,  leaving  his  son  alone  in  the  world. 

While  at  Havana,  they  lived  on  a  small  sum 
that  the  elder  Tournel  had  managed  to  save  from 
the  wreck  of  his  former  possessions.  It  was  the 
equivalent  of  his  wife's  diamonds  which,  stored 
in  a  small  casket,  had  been  easily  secreted  and 
carried  off,  and  which  the  widower  had  subse- 
quently sold.  The  money  had  been  deposited 
at  a  bank,  and  Tournel,  accustomed  to  the  lux- 
ury and  recklessness  of  a  Creole's  life,  had  un- 
thinkingly drawn  all  he  wanted  without  fore- 
seeing the  destitution  that  might  come,  and 
reckoning,  as  he  did  too  confidently,  on  the 
chance  of  regaining  his  possessions. 

After  his  death,  his  son  received  from  the 
banker  an  account  of  his  father's  expenditures, 
with  the  intelligence  also  that  not  a  dollar  of 
their  former  little  capital  remained  to  him.  Was " 
the  account  a  correct  one  ?  The  poor  youth  had 
no  means  of  verifying  it.     Here  he  was,  utterly 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  3 1 

penniless  and  friendless,  in  a  foreign  land !  H  ow 
should  he  live  ?  He  had  never  worked,  nor 
learned  any  profession  ;  his  education  had  been 
neglected,  as  was  often  the  case  with  the  chil- 
dren of  rich  Creole  colonists.  But  he  would 
not  despair ;  he  was  twenty,  and  at  that  age, 
with  perseverance  and  honesty,  failure  is  im- 
possible. 

He  first  offered  his  services  to  some  Havana 
planters  as  an  overseer,  but  he  was  found  too 
young  for  such  a  post ;  besides,  this  place  rather 
belongs  to  a  colored  than  to  a  white  man.  He 
next  tried  to  get  into  a  merchant  s  office,  but  he 
had  not  been  brought  up  to  trade,  and  knew 
nothing  of  book-keeping ;  here,  too,  he  was 
foiled.  At  last  he  heard  that  a  ship  had 
touched  at  Havana  and  needed  sailors  ;  he  im- 
mediately applied  and  was  accepted. 

It  proved  to  be  a  whaling  ship  from  Balti- 
'  in  ore,' bound  for  the  fisheries  of  the  Pacific.  It 
is  needless  to  tell  you  what  hardships  he  under- 
went in  this  rough  calling,  which  he  followed 
for  nearly  four  years ;  besides,  the  narrative 
of  his  adventures  would  carry  me  beyond 
bounds. 

After  a  last  cruise,  when  the  crew  were  paid 


32  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

off  and  the  ship  sold  to  another  owner,  Mon- 
sieur Tournel  sought  a  temporary  holiday,  and 
thought  of  investing  the  twelve  thousand  francs 
he  had  made  in  his  different  expeditions,  in 
some  less  dangerous  venture  than  belonged  to 
a  seafaring  life.  He  had  made  the  acquaintance, 
during  his  frequent  home-comings  to  Balti- 
more, of  a  French  family,  formerly  settled  in 
Acadia,  and  who,  when  that  province  was 
made  over  to  England,  had  been,  with  all  the 
French  settlers  of  that  neighborhood,  sent  into 
the  then  English  colonies  of  America.  This 
family,  although  for  more  than  thirty  years  in- 
habitants of  Baltimore,  had  kept  up  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  mother-country  and  the  accents 
of  the  mother-tongue.  The  likeness  of  their 
fate  to  his  had  drawn  Monsieur  Tournel  into 
intimacy  with  them.  He  had  first  made  fast 
friends  with  the  eldest  son,  who  was  a  sailor  on 
board  the  whaleship  ;  then  he  had  married  his 
friend's  sister,  and  again  gone  to  sea,  until  he 
had  amassed  a  modest  capital,  just  sufficient  to 
start  a  little  shop.  His  wife  was  as  steady, 
saving,  active,  and  shrewd  as  himself.  She  had 
not  brought  him  much  as  a  marriage  portion ; 
but  these  qualities  are  in  themselves  better  than 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  33 

a  rich  dowry  and  a  love  of  luxury  and  idleness, 
which  are  too  often  the  characteristics  of  Creole 
women. 

With  the  small  capital  at  their  joint  disposal 
they  had  opened  a  little  hardware  shop ;  Mon- 
ieur  Tournel  took  good  care  not  to  run  into 
iny  hare-brained  speculations,  but  advanced 
slowly  and  surely,  until  at  my  arrival  in  Bal- 
timore I  found  him  at  the  head  of  a  comfort- 
able competency.  I  have  already  said  that  I 
was  welcomed  by  him  as  a  brother  and  a  friend. 
When  he  introduced  me  to  his  wife  and  his  moth- 
er-in-law, who  since  her  husband's  death  had 
lived  with  her  married  daughter,  they  received 
me  with  such  cordiality  that  I  soon  found  my- 
self quite  at  home.  The  children  smiled  on  me ; 
the  youngest  came  up  and  kissed  me,  wThile  the 
eldest,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  held  out  her  hand 
and  blushed,  and  William,  a  boy  of  twelve, 
took  my  hand  in  his  and  shook  it  heartily,  ac- 
cording to  the  American  fashion.  I  had  hardly 
been  in  the  house  an  hour  before  the  little  boys 
of  eight  and  ten  years  were  mounted  one  on 
each  *nee,  and  William,  who  sat  by  me,  was 
looking  with  curiosity  at  my  cross  of  the  Legion 


34  ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

of  Honor  (I  now  wore  it  fearlessly),  and  asking 
me  a  thousand  questions. 

"  Did  you  know  the  Emperor  Napoleon  ? 
and  was  it  he  who  gave  you  this  cross  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  boy." 

"  Were  you  often  in  a  fight  ?" 

"  Yes,  very  often." 

"  Oh  !  you  must  tell  us  all  about  it." 

"  I  will,  with  pleasure." 

This  innocent  familiarity  was  very  refreshing 
to  me.  Madame  Tournel  would  fain  have  sent 
the  children  away,  for  fear  of  their  prattle  tir- 
ing me,  but  I  opposed  her  wish,  not  through 
mere  politeness,  but  with  real  meaning.  In- 
deed, I,  who  had  never  known  the  joys  of 
home,  and  who  scarcely  remembered  my  moth- 
er's caresses,  was  touched  and  delighted  beyond 
measure  at  receiving  these  innocent  marks  of 
brotherly  affection,  which  made  me  find,  as  it 
were,  a  family  and  a  home  three  thousand 
miles  away  from  my  own  native  land. 

These  happy  beginnings  continued  the  same 
during  all  my  stay,  and  you  will  learn  in  the 
course  of  this  tale  that  my  union  with  this 
family  was  only  strengthened  by  the  lapse  of 
time.     Nevertheless,  the  next  day  but  one  after 


ADVENTURES  OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  3$ 

my  arrival  I  nearly  quarrelled  with  my  host, 
and  this  was  the  subject  of  the  dispute  : 

The  prettiest  room  in  the  house  had  been 
assigned  me,  and  a  servant  had  been  placed,  at 
my  orders,  to  bring  my  tea,  coffee  and  choco- 
late every  morning.  I  breakfasted  comforta- 
bly at  eleven,  and  took  luncheon  at  four  ;  then 
only  at  night  did  I  join  the  family  at  their  even- 
ing meal.  It  was  my  only  opportunity  for  see- 
ing my  hosts,  whom  their  business  always  kept 
in  or  about  the  shop,  which  was  distant  some 
hundred  yards  from  the  house. 

I  did  not  intend  to  take  advantage  of  such 
lavish  hospitality  beyond  a  few  days  at  the 
most ;  my  own  sense  of  what  was  right  wouldn't 
have  allowed  me  to  do  so.  I  still  had  about 
twenty  thousand  francs  left,  and  could  provide 
for  myself  until  I  should  have  found  suitable 
employment.  One  evening,  after  dinner,  I 
spoke  of  this  to  Monsieur  Tournel,  and  begged 
him  to  settle  some  definite  price  for  my  board 
and  lodging,  if  he  still  consented  to  let  me  live 
in  his  family.  I  had  scarcely  begun  than  he 
started  in  surprise ;  then  his  looks  met  mine,  as 
though  he  had  not  quite  seized  my  meaning  ; 
?nd  when  at  last  he  could  not  help  understand- 


$6  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

ing  me,  a  flush  rose  to  his  cheeks,  he  was  silent 
for  a  minute  or  two,  and  then  said,  in  his  usual 
serious  and  firm  tone  of  voice : 

"  If  you  knew  me  better,  I  should  be  inclined 
to  think  that  you  were  insulting  me.  Know, 
monsieur,  that  I  learned  what  hospitality  was 
in  my  father's  house,  and  that,  had  I  possessed 
the  fortune  that  was  once  ours,  my  house 
should  have  been  open  not  only  to  you,  but  to 
all  your  comrades ;  indeed,  I  should  not  have 
allowed  any  one  else  to  interfere  with  my  right 
to  harbor  you  all.  Now  that  circumstances 
make  it  impossible  for  me  to  exercise  fully  a 
right  which  is  as  sacred  as  a  duty  to  me,  seeing 
that  it  is  misfortune  that  has  driven  you  from 
our  common  country,  would  you  try  to  take 
from  me  the  pleasure  of  exercising  it  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  my  power  ?" 

The  earnest  tone  of  his  voice  showed  that 
no  answer  was  possible  that  did  not  coincide 
with  his  wish.  I  saw  that  I  should  only  hurt 
him  by  insisting  further,  so  I  managed  to  make 
good  my  excuses  by  telling  him  that  I  had 
never  doubted  his  generosity,  and,  had  I  been 
utterly  penniless,  would  have  accepted  his 
Vindness  at  once,  and  opened  my  heart  to  him. 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  37 

Rut,  I  added,  since  I  still  have  something  of 
my  own  to  depend  upon,  I  thought  it  wrong 
to  take  advantage  of  an  asylum  which  might 
with  more  propriety  have  been  used  in  favor 
of  some  of  my  less  fortunate  comrades. 

"  And  your  resources,"  he  answered  with  a 
smile,  "  amount,  as  I  think  you  told  me,  to 
twenty  thousand  francs,  something  like  four 
thousand  dollars,  as  we  reckon  here  ?" 

"  Yes,  that  is  it." 

"  And  do  you  know  that  four  thousand  dol- 
lars in  the  United  States  do  not  count  even  as 
four  thousand  francs  do  at  home  ?  You  would 
easily  get  through  that  sum  in  a  year,  and  that 
without  spending  any  thing  out  of  the  way. 
Take  my  advice  and  keep  your  money  till  you 
really  want  it,  or  rather  put  it  in  the  State  Rank 
of  Maryland,  where  you  can  draw  it  as  you 
want  it,  either  in  instalments  or  all  at  once." 

"  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart,"  said  I,  "  and 
1  accept  both  your  generous  offer  and  your 
kind  advice  with  the  deepest  gratitude.  Still 
I  cannot  be  idle  forever  ;  I  should  feel  more  in 
my  own  way  than  in  yours  could  I  do  so;  and, 
since  you  are  kind  enough  to  take  an  interest 


38  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

in  me,  I  wish  you  would  point  out  some  occu- 
pation which  will  enable  me  to  earn  my  living 
honorably." 

"  Who  wants  you  to  be  idle  ?"  he  answered. 
"  Idleness  is  more  looked  down  upon  in  the 
United  States  than  anywhere  else  ;  indeed,  in 
this  country  it  is  unknown.  From  the  highest 
to  the  lowest,  every  man  works.  The  thing  is 
to  find  some  occupation  that  will  suit  you  ;  but 
the  first  step  will  be  to  learn  English  thor- 
oughly, for  without  that  I  see  nothing  open  to 
you.  You  already  know  something  of  the 
language,  and  will  easily  learn  the  rest ;  you 
might  take  lessons  with  my  children,  who  have 
a  master  that  comes  here  regularly  every  day, 
and  as  my  wife  and  I  will  henceforth  speak 
English  to  you,  you  will  have  the  opportunity 
of  learning  the  language  practically.  Once  you 
know  enough  to  be  able  to  speak  fluently,  I 
will  take  you  to  a  club  where  you  will  be 
heartily  welcomed,  and  where  you  will  catch 
the  polishing  you  require  in  the  English  lan- 
guage." 

I  reiterated  my  heartfelt  thanks  to  my  kind 
host,  and  promised  to  abide  by  his  advice. 


ADVENTURES  OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  39 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  "  that  is  settled.  But 
I  am  going  to  ask  a  favor  from  you,  and  it  is 
this  :  that  while  we  thus  learn  English  together, 
you  will  give  an  hour's  instruction  in  French 
to  my  children,  who  have  never  learned  their 
mother-tongue  grammatically.  You  may  have 
noticed  that  they  speak  it  with  a  bad  accent 
And  use  obsolete  expressions  ;  this  comes  from 
the  fact  of  their  mother,  and  especially  their 
grandmother,  belonging  to  one  of  those  old 
Norman  settler's  families  that  colonized  Canada 
and  Acadia,  and  who  have  kept  not  only  a 
strong  Norman  accent,  but  certain  expressions 
and  turns  of  speech  that  date  as  far  back  as 
Louis  the  Thirteenth's  reign  in  France,  or  even 
Henry  the  Fourth's." 

I  eagerly  caught  at  this  proposal,  which  en- 
abled me,  though  only  in  an  infinitesimal  de- 
gree, to  cancel  my  obligations  towards  my  gen- 
erous host ;  I  Was  glad  to  think  that  this  proof 
of  confidence  showed  that  I  was  not  considered 
quite  a  useless  and  ornamental  personage,  and 
henceforth  felt  rehabilitated  in  my  own  esteem. 
I  entered  on  my  new  duties  the  next  morning 
and  got  on  admirably.     I  cannot  say  the  same 


40'       ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

for  my  pupils,  although  their  father — whether 
from  indulgence  or  from  inability  to  be  judge  in 
such  a  cause — thought  that  his  children  made 
remarkable  progress.  Thanks  to  these  various 
interests  and  occupations,  time  passed  quickly. 
We  had  no  lessons  on  Sundays,  as  also  no  busi- 
ness, and  I  always  accompanied  the  family  to 
high  mass  at  the  Cathedral,  for  Baltimore  has 
ever  been  one  of  the  most  Catholic  cities  in 
the  Union,  and  was  at  that  time  the  only  Epis- 
copal see  in  the  country. 

My  religious  education  had  been  very  much 
neglected,  and  I  had  never  given  religion  a 
thought  during  my  military  life.  Often  had  I 
heard  my  comrades  laugh  at  it  and  denounce 
it  as  an  invention  of  priests  and  old  women, 
and  I  had  found  it  more  convenient  to  echo 
their  silly  sarcasms  than  to  inquire  into  the  truth 
of  these  statements.  I  had  never  set  foot  in  a 
church,  except  when  sent  there  on  military  duty, 
as  sometimes  happened;  and  when  I  first  went 
to  the  Cathedral  at  Baltimore,  it  was  chiefly 
through  curiosity  and  a  desire  to  please  the 
Tournels,  who,  I  saw,  evidently  expected  me 
to  accompany  them. 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH  CAPTAIN.         41 

I  followed  the  mass  rather  listlessly,  but  was 
all  attention  when  the  sermon  began ;  not,  I 
must  say,  through  respect  for  the  truths  uttered 
by  the  preacher,  but  through  a  wish  to  under- 
stand every  word  he  pronounced,  that  I  might 
know  by  experience  what  practical  progress  I 
had  made  in  English.  My  experiment  proved 
successful,  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  sentence 
or  two  whose  meaning  escaped  me,  I  could 
understand  every  word  he  said,  and  repeat  the 
substance  of  his  discourse  when  we  reached 
home.  Every  one  congratulated  me  on  my 
rapid  progress ;  Madame  Tournel  especially  was 
quite  delighted,  as  she  piously  attributed  to 
a  feeling  of  religion  the  great  attention  I  had 
paid  to  the  sermon,  and  was  rejoiced  to  find 
herself  mistaken  as  to  the  indifference  with 
which  she  had  secretly  taxed  me.  This  success 
encouraged  me,  and  I  renewed  the  experiment 
every  following  Sunday  until  I  soon  understood 
the  Christian  orator  thoroughly,  and  could  re- 
peat in  English,  or  translate  into  French,  what 
I  had  heard  in  church.  But  this  exercise  of 
memory  had  a  far  more  important  result  than 
I  had  anticipated.     I  not  only  learned  English, 


42  ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

but  began  to  understand  a  great  part  of  the 
doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  and 
if  I  was  not  converted  on  the  spot,  seed  was 
nevertheless  implanted  in  my  heart  which  was 
destined  to  bear  fruit  in  good  time.  I  had  still, 
however,  cruel  trials  to  go  through  before  that 
time. 


CHAPTER   III. 

TROUBLES    OF    THE  FRENCH   REFUGEES GRANTS 

OF    LAND     BY     CONGRESS SPECULATIONS      OF 

AMERICAN  CAPITALISTS PROPOSED  SETTLE- 
MENT IN  TEXAS GENERALS  LALLEMAND  AD- 
DRESS A  PETITION  TO  THE  COURT  OF  MAD- 
RID  SILENCE     OF     THE     COURT EXECUTION 

OF    THE    PLAN MEETING     OF    THE  REFUGEES 

AT       PHILADELPHIA— MONSIEUR       TOURNEL's 

VIEWS 1     DECIDE    UPON     THROWING     IN    MY 

LOT    WITH    THE    TEXAS    SETTLERS. 

I  had  now  been  six  months  m  Baltimore, 
and  they  had  certainly  been  the  happiest  of  my 
life.  Those  who  had  landed  with  me,  though 
less  fortunate  than  myself,  had  yet  little  to 
complain  of,  but  the  refugees  who  had  gone  to 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  or  to 
other  Northern  cities  of  the  Union,  had  not 
been  so  lucky.  Among  them  were  some  of 
the  most  famous  men  of  the  old  Imperial 
Guard,  such  as  Marshal  Grouchy,  Generals 
Clausel,    Vandemne,    Lefebvre,    Desnouettes, 


44  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

Rigaud  and  the  two  brothers  Lallemand,  Colo- 
nel Gaubert,  and  many  other  superior  officers 
no  less  distinguished  by  their  military  prowess 
than  bv  the  nobility  of  their  character. 

Unable  to  take  to  civil  pursuits,  they  spent 
their  time  in  vain  efforts  to  gain  an  honest 
livelihood,  or  in  unavailing  regrets  for  a  father- 
land that  had  in  some  sort  repudiated  their 
help.  The  subaltern  officers  were  even  worse 
off,  and  at  last  all  combined  to  present  a  peti- 
tion to  Congress,  praying  that  land  might  be 
granted  them  to  clear,  swamps  to  drain,  or  any 
work  of  a  kind  which  they  were  fitted  to  under- 
take. Congress  awarded  them  one  hundred 
thousand  acres  on  the  Mobile  and  Tombeckbee 
rivers,  with  the  right  of  founding  a  settlement, 
each  soldier  to  receive  a  piece  of  land  propor- 
tionate to  his  military  rank.  Money  was 
needed  for  the  first  necessities  of  the  colony  ; 
but  our  countrymen,  when  they  had  reached 
America,  had  found  themselves  utterly  desti- 
tute of  the  barest  necessaries  of  life,  so  that 
after  a  few  months'  stay  in  the  principal  cities 
of  the  Union,  they  had  not  only  not  emerged 
from  their  penniless  condition,  but  had  con- 
tracted fresh  pecuniary  obligations  towards  the 


*     ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  45 

persons  who  had  harbored  them.  Those  rich 
cities  of  the  North  had  not  been  as  hospitable 
to  them  as  Baltimore  to  us ;  but  worse  was  yet 
to  come. 

Seeing  them  thus  utterly  destitute,  a  few 
shrewd  capitalists  proposed  to  the  immigrants 
to  pay  their  debts  for  them,  and  even  lend 
them  a  little  money,  on  condition  of  their  giv- 
ing up  to  them  all  claims  on  the  land  granted 
them  by  Congress.  The  Frenchmen  had  no 
choice ;  necessity  was  their  law,  and  the  bar- 
gain was  concluded.  What  was  the  result  ? 
Seven  eighths  of  the  new  owners  of  the  colony, 
instead  of  being  Frenchmen,  as  had  been  in- 
tended, now  turned  out  to  be  Americans  ;  the 
plan  of  the  settlement  was  thus  abruptly 
changed,  and  the  generals  and  superior  officers 
who  riad  a  little  money  to  invest  in  agricultu- 
ral undertakings  found  themselves  alone  as 
strangers  among  strangers.  They  had  ex- 
pected to  be  surrounded  by  men  of  their  own 
nation,  and  thus  to  taste  some  of  the  joys  of 
home ;  but  even  this  illusion  was  taken  from 
them,  as  they  now  found  neighbors  whose  lan- 
guage and  customs  were  quite  foreign  to  their 
own. 


46         ADVENTURES  OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.    * 

It  was  then  that  Generals  Lallemand  (the 
two  brothers)  and  a  few  other  enterprising 
officers  proceeded  to  reconnoitre  and  explore 
the  neighboring  provinces,  with  a  view  to 
another  settlement  that  might  answer  the  pur- 
pose which  they  had  contemplated  at  first 
Texas,  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  seemed  to  offer 
the  requisite  advantages  for  a  new  colony. 
The  soil  was  fruitful,  the  climate  fine  and 
healthy  ;  a  few  tentative  settlements  were  made, 
and  the  plan  was  decided  upon.    • 

Texas  was  at  that  time  a  bone  of  contention 
between  the  Court  of  Spain  and  the  United 
States  Congress.  The  rights  of  the  former 
seeming  more  solidly  established  than  those  of 
the  latter,  the  brothers  Lallemand  drew  up  a 
petition  addressed  to  the  Court  of  Madrid,  and 
forwarded  it  through  the  Spanish  Legation  at 
Washington.     It  was  to  this  effect : 

"  That  it  was  their  intention,  as  also  that  of 
the  other  French  refugees  in  America,  to  found 
a  colony  in  Texas  ; 

"  That  since  royal  proclamations  had  invited 
colonists  of  all  classes  and  nations  to  settle  in 
the  provinces  of  Spanish  America,  His  Catholic 


ADVENTURES   OF  A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  47 

Majesty  would  doubtless  see  with  pleasure  a 
new  settlement  made  in  a  desert  land  which 
only  required  industrious  inhabitants  to  be- 
come one  of  the  most  fruitful  and  prosperous 
countries  in  the  world  ; 

"  That  the  members  composing  the  proposed 
colony  were  ready  to  recognize  and  do  homage 
to  the  Spanish  Government,  to  pay  the  legal 
taxes,  and  support  their  settlement  by  their 
own  labor ;  but  they  craved  permission  to  live 
under  their  own  laws,  to  be  independent  of  any 
Spanish  governor,  and  to  organize  their  own 
military  system  ; 

"  That,  providing  the  Court  of  Spain  would 
grant  their  petition,  it  might  depend  on  their 
loyalty  and  their  services,  if  required  ; 

"  That  in  case  their  petition  was  rejected, 
they  would  then  hold  themselves  at  liberty  to 
use  the  right  which  nature  grants  to  every 
man,  and  which  none  may  dispute,  of  clearing 
and  working  vast  tracts  of  unpeopled  wilder- 
ness ; 

"  That  their  rights  in  this  regard  were  far 
better  than  those  of  the  Spaniards  themselves  at 
the  time  of  the  Conquest,  for  while  these  had 
come  to  take   by  force   a  free  and    inhabited 


48  ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAFTAIN. 

country,  they,  on  the  contrary,  only  came  to 
cultivate  barren  deserts ; 

"  That,  in  short,  come  what  would,  they  had 
determined  to  settle  in  Texas." 

The  Generals  Lallemand  received  no  answer 
to  this  petition,  and,  judging  from  the  arbitrary 
and  threatening  tone  which  they  had  infused 
into  it,  probably  did  not  expect  an  answer.  It 
was  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  Spain  would 
have  willingly  welcomed  a  French  military 
colony  made  up  of  old  Bonapartist  veterans 
on  the  extreme  frontier  of  Mexico,  whose 
population  had  long  been  striving  to  shake  off 
the  yoke  of  the  mother-country,  and  whose  ef- 
forts would  very  naturally  appeal  to  the  na- 
tional sympathy — or  antipathy — of  the  French. 
The  two  generals,  nevertheless,  were  unremit- 
ting in  their  efforts  to  carry  out  their  plan. 
They  first  secured  the  consent  of  Congress, 
who  ratified  the  alienation  of  the  land  origi- 
nally granted  to  the  French  settlers  on  the 
Mobile  River,  the  emigration  of  the  colony  to 
Texas,  and  its  establishment  on  that  disputed 
territory.  It  even  promised,  if  necessary,  to 
waive  its  rights  on  the  territory  chosen  by  the 
French  settlers. 


ADVENTURES  OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  49 

Armed  with  this  declaration,  the  Generals 
Lallemand  appealed  to  all  the  French  refugees 
scattered  over  the  Union,  and  called  a  mass 
meeting  at  Philadelphia,  to  lay  before  them 
their  intentions,  their  hopes,  and  the  proposed 
means  for  a  speedy  realization  of  their  dreams 
of  success.  I  hastened  to  answer  this  appeal, 
and  was  accompanied  by  all  of  my  comrades 
who  had  remained  in  Baltimore,  for  a  few  had 
gone  to  New  Orleans.  Monsieur  Tournel  and 
a  few  other  old  refugees  from  San  Domingo 
wished  to  be  of  the  party,  for  the  generals  had 
called  upon  them  as  well  as  upon  us.  I  was 
rather  astonished  when  my  friend  told  me  of 
his  intention  to  join  us. 

"  What !"  I  exclaimed,  "  you  who  have  a 
snug  little  business  ready  in  working  order 
in  Baltimore,  would  you  run  the  risk  of  leav- 
ing it  to  go  and  clear  land  in  Texas  ?" 

"  Why  not  ?"  he  answered,  with  a  laugh  ;  but, 
resuming  his  usual  grave  demeanor,  he  added, 
"  I  wish,  at  any  rate,  to  acquaint  myself  with  the 
details  of  Messieurs  Lallemand's  plan  and  their 
prospects  of  realizing  it.  If  the  plan  seems  a 
sound  one  to  me,  and  has  a  reasonable  chance 
of  success,  I  shall  be  too  glad  to  embark  in  this 


$0         ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

undertaking,  but  1  need. not  therefore  leave 
my  business  in  Baltimore.  I  can  trust  it  to 
my  partner,  my  brother-in-law,  while  I  myself 
go  to  Texas  and  take  up  once  more  a  planter's 
life,  for  which  I  was  born  and  which  I  have 
always  preferred  to  any  other.  Circumstances 
alone  forced  me  to  become  a  shopkeeper,  just 
as  they  forced  me  to  be  a  sailor ;  but  I  am  no 
more  made  for  climbing  the  rigging  than  I  am 
for  standing  behind  the  counter.  What  I 
like,  what  I  want,  is  an  open-air  life  :  the  direc- 
tion of  plenty  of  men  working  in  fields  covered 
with  cotton  or  sugar-cane  ;  rides  of  many  miles 
from  one  factory  to  the  other ;  harvesting,  and 
the  sale  of  the  harvest  to  some  Liverpool  or 
Havana  ship-owner.  Such  are  my  dreams,  and 
long  ago  I  should  have  bought  a  plantation 
in  Louisiana  had  I  had  the  wherewithal.  I 
wished  to  settle  in  some  country  where  French 
was  spoken  and  understood,  and  that  is  the 
reason  why  I  never  would  buy  land  in  Vir- 
ginia, or  the  Carolinas,  or  any  other  State  peo- 
pled solely  by  Anglo-Americans.  That  is  why 
this  Texas  plan  holds  out  a  bait  for  me  ;  the 
country  is  quite  as  fruitful  as  Louisiana  and  a 
great  deal  healthier.     I  have  been  there  twice 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  5 1 

during  my  seafaring  life :  we  sailed  up  the 
Colorado  and  the  Rio  Trinidad,  and  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  noticing  the  beauty  of  the  scen- 
ery, the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil,  and  the  varied 
nature  of  the  products.  It  is  truly  an  earthly 
paradise  ;  but  as  my  eyes  feasted  on  the  beauty 
of  this  land  and  I  breathed  its  sweet,  perfume- 
laden  atmosphere,  I  could  not  help  thinking  sor- 
rowfully of  all  this  fertile  tract  given  over  to 
wild  beasts,  or  to  a  race  of  men  more  wild  and 
untamable  yet.  If  this  wilderness  is  now  abouf 
to  be  peopled  by  Frenchmen  who  are  honestly 
determined  to  make  the  most  of  its  rich  re- 
sources, I  shall  be  too  happy  to  join  them,  to 
work  with  them ;  and  while  I  hear  my  native 
tongue  spoken  around  me,  and  see  nearly  the 
same  crops  cultivated  as  I  cultivated  myself  in 
San  Domingo,  I  shall  believe  myself  trans- 
ported to  my  own  home  and  the  days  of  my 
happy  youth." 

"  I  am  delighted  to  hear  of  this,"  I  said, 
"  and  only  hope  that  your  dreams  may  be  real- 
ized ;  for  although  I  looked  forward  with  great 
pleasure  to  a  reunion  with  my  old  brother- 
officers,  still  I  could  not  think  of  my  separa- 
tion from  you  without  a  thrill  of  pain,     I  can- 


%2  ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

not  tell  you  how  happy  I  should  be  to  see  you 
too  take  part  in  this  great  undertaking,  this 
foundation  of  a  new  France,  which  will  em- 
brace in  one  pale  all  exiles  from  the  mother- 
country." 

"  Nay,"  said  Monsieur  Tournel,  with  a  smile, 
"  we  must  not  judge  of  this  too  sanguinely. 
This  plan  in  theory  is  as  welcome  to  me  as  it 
is  to  you,  but  its  realization  requires  a  perse- 
verance and  a  unity  of  views  seldom  found 
among  so  large  a  body  of  men.  So,  as  I  told 
you  already,  I  do  not  mean  to  decide  till  after 
much  reflection,  and  when  I  shall  be  morally 
certain  of  the  success  of  the  undertaking." 

We  started  accordingly  for  Philadelphia. 
General  Dominic  Lallemand,  the  younger  of 
the  two  brothers,  received  us  with  great  hearti- 
ness on  our  arrival.  He  had  just  married  one 
of  the  nieces  and  heiresses  of  Stephen  Girard, 
at  that  time  the  richest  merchant  in  the  Unit- 
ed States.  Monsieur  Girard  had  himself  been 
a  San  Domingo  colonist,  and  had  been  driven 
from  his  home  by  the  negro  insurrection. 
Monsieur  Tournel  only  knew  Girard  by  name, 
but  he  knew  him  to  possess  great  business  tal^ 
ents  as  well  as  a  thoroughly  honest  and  high- 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  53 

minded  nature.  He  was  anxious  to  consult 
him  on  the  undertaking  headed  by  his  nephew, 
and  was  sure  that  as  a  countryman  of  his  he 
would  give  him  sound  and  reliable  advice. 
Monsieur  Girard,  however,  was  in  New  York 
at  the  time,  and  was  not  expected  home  for  a 
month. 

The  French  refugees  nocked  in  from  all 
sides,  and  soon  reached  the  number  of  four  to 
five  hundred.  In  several  consecutive  meetings 
the  general  explained  his  plan,  and  promised 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  those  emigrants  who 
should  consent  to  go.  The  Comte  de  Sur- 
villiers  (the  King  Joseph  Bonaparte,  eldest 
brother  of  the  emperor),  who  was  at  that  time 
in  Philadelphia,  fully  approved  of  the  plan  of 
colonizing  Texas,  and  contributed  a  large  sum 
of  money  towards  the  incidental  expenses  of 
the  expedition. 

The  general's  eager  and  enthusiastic  manner 
quickly  won  to  his  side  all  the  subaltern  offi- 
cers, but  among  the  generals,  Rigaud  alone 
acquiesced  in  the  idea,  the  others  declaring  the 
whole  thing  immature,  hazardous,  and  ill- 
timed.  For  my  part,  I  was  enthusiastically  in 
its  favor,  and  quite    reprobated  the  generals' 


54  ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

opinion.  I  immediately  put  my  name  on  the 
list  of  those  who  were  ready  to  leave  at  once, 
and  only  regretted  that  our  departure  could 
not  take  place  the  very  next  day.  Monsieur 
Tournel  ravely  and  coolly  tried  to  make  me 
see  things  in  a  more  reasonable  light. 

"  Without  quite  agreeing  with  some  of  your 
generals,  who  think  the  undertaking  a  folly,  I 
yet  think  that  we  should  not  act  too  precipi- 
tately, else  we  might  be  disappointed.  Gen- 
eral Rigaud,  who  believes  in  the  plan,  would 
almost  induce  me  to  accept  his  presence  as  a 
guarantee  of  success,  being  as  he  is  an  old  colo- 
nist of  San  Domingo,  and  therefore  more  fitted 
to  judge  of  such  a  question  and  its  chances  of 
success.  But  I  should  have  been  glad  if  he 
had  been  the  first  to  start  with  a  few  old  fami- 
lies, old  colonists  who  would  have  chosen 
proper  spots  for  cultivation,  and  open  the  way 
for  those  who,  having  less  experience,  might 
easily  make  mistakes  in  the  beginning  of  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  to  which  they  are  less  used 
than  to  a  military  career." 

"  I  should  be  quite  of  your  opinion,"  I  an- 
swered, "  if  we  were  in  a  position  to  proceed 
with  so  much  method,  which  in   an  undertak- 


ADVENTURES    OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  55 

ing  of  this  kind  is  certainly  the  surest  gauge 
of  success.  But  how  can  the  greater  number  of 
our  men  wait  to  take  such  precautions?  I 
do  not  speak  of  myself,  who,  thanks  to  you, 
have  not  squandered  my  little  all,  but  of  my 
comrades,  who  are  nearly  all  of  them  absolute- 
ly penniless  or  sunk  in  forced  idleness,  which, 
except  eating  the  bread  of  charity,  is  the  most 
tormenting  thing  that  can  gall  the  human 
soul.  Nothing  is  left  them  but  a  speedy  de- 
parture for  a  land  where  their  fate  will  be 
changed,  or  where,  if  their  condition  is  not 
bettered,  at  least  their  noble  efforts  to  leave 
their  present  irksome  condition  will  be  heard 
of  and  appreciated." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Monsieur  Tournel,  after 
a  few  moments'  thought ;  "  if  I  were  placed  in 
the  same  position  as  the  generality  of  your 
comrades,  I  should  act  as  they  are  acting ;  but 
you,  who,  as  you  said  a  little  while  ago,  have 
got  something  left,  and,  I  might  add,  friends 
who  will  be  sorry  to  see  you  go,  why  are  you 
in  such  a  hurry  ?  are  you  very  anxious  to  leave 
us?" 

"  How  can  you  think  it !"  I  cried  ;  "  I  have 
found  under  your   hospitable  roof  more  than 


$6         ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

mere  shelter ;  I  have  found  a  family,  for  I  look 
upon  you  as  my  father,  your  wife  reminds  me 
of  my  mother,  your  children  are  my  brothers, 
and  the  memory  of  your  kindness  will  never 
leave  me  to  my  dying  day.  Still  I  could  not 
live  forever  with  you,  and  if  I  put  off  my  de- 
parture any  longer  I  shall  but  render  the  in- 
evitable separation  more  painful  still.  Be- 
sides, I  have  promised  my  old  comrades  in 
arms  to  be  of  their  party,  and  thCy  are  all 
bound  for  the  first  ship  that  sails  ;  I  cannot 
break  my  word.  But  I  hope  we  shall  all  meet 
you  there  some  day,  for  you  do  not  mean  to  give 
up  your  plan  of  joining  us  in  Texas,  do  you  ?" 

"  No,  indeed  I  shall  not  give  it  up,  and  it 
was  for  that  reason  that  I  wished  you  to  wait 
till  I  went;  but  if  you  are  bound  to  your  old 
friends,  of  course  you  cannot  break  your  word, 
and  you  shall  not  find  me  the  man  to  advise 
you  to  do  such  a  thing.  After  all,  now  I  come 
to  think  of  it,  perhaps  it  is  best  so :  you  sol- 
diers will  march  in  the  van  and  be  our  pio- 
neers, and  when  you  shall  have  securely  got 
possession  of  the  territory,  agriculturists  will 
follow  peaceably  in  your  wake  to  cultivate  it." 

While    the  preparations  for   our   departure 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  57 

were  being  made  at  Philadelphia,  I  returned  to 
Baltimore  with  Monsieur  Tournel  to  take  leave 
of  my  friends  and  settle  my  own  affairs.  I 
wanted  to  draw  all  my  capital  and  take  it  with 
me,  but,  according  to  Monsieur  Tournel's  ad- 
vice, I  only  took  five  hundred  dollars  to  pay  my 
part  of  the  expenses  of  the  journey  and  of  the 
equipment  of  the  ship.  I  left  the  rest  in  the 
bank.  "  You  have  enough  for  the  present," 
said  my  provident  friend,  "  and  will  find  the 
rest  all  safe  when  you  happen  to  need  it,  and 
then  you  will  see  how  wise  is  the  old  saw, 
1  You  should  always  leave  one  pear  on  the 
tree  in  case  you  might  be  tnirsty  again.' " 

It  was  not  without  heartfelt  emotion,  nor 
without  a  promise  to  meet  them  again  as  soon 
as  possible,  that  I  left  the  kind  and  excellent 
family  of  my  host. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

DEPARTURE    FROM    PHILADELPHIA ARRIVAL  AT 

GALVESTON TEMPORARY    STAY     ON     AN     ISL- 
AND  THE         PIRATE         LAFITTE THE         RIO 

TRINIDAD SETTLEMENT  OF   CAMP  ASYLUM 

FIRST      TROUBLES MILITARY     ORGANIZATION 

OF    THE    SETTLERS FORTS    AND    TRENCHES 

MANIFESTO      OF     THE     CAMP     ASYLUM      REFU* 

GEES ITS  EFFECT  IN  EUROPE SUBSCRIPTION 

FOR     THE     REFUGEES OCCUPATIONS    OF     THE 

SETTLERS MONSIEUR    COLLIN HIS    PLANS — ' 

I  GIVE  HIM  A  LETTER  TO  MONSIEUR  TOURNEL 

CAMP    LIFE AMUSEMENTS TREATY    WITH 

THE  INDIANS GENERAL  LALLEMAND  CHOSEN 

"  GREAT     CHIEF" BALL     GIVEN     TO     THE     IN- 
HABITANTS   OF    SAN    ANTONIO    DE    BEJAR. 

General  Lallemand  had  chartered  a  schoo- 
ner, which  was  provisioned  for  four  or  five  hun- 
dred men.  The  cargo  consisted  of  six  guns,  six 
hundred  muskets,  four  hundred  sabres,  and 
twelve  thousand  pounds  of  powder,  bought 
partly  with  the  voluntary  contributions  of  those 


ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  59 

among  us  who  yet  had  funds  of  their  own,  and 
partly  with  a  donation  of  the  king,  Joseph 
Bonaparte.  The  emperor's  brother  had  dis- 
tributed, over  and  above  his  public  gift,  several 
sums  of  money  intended  to  pay  the  debts  of 
the  subaltern  officers,  and  free  them  from  all 
annoyance.  Thus  was  the  ex-King  of  Spain 
solicitous  for  the  honor  of  the  French  name, 
for  he  would  not  even  have  it  said  that  the 
exiles  had  left  debts  behind  them. 

Our  craft  was  an  American  schooner  called 
the  Huntress,  and  her  cargo,  as  we  have  al- 
ready hinted,  seemed  rather  fitted  for  a  military 
raid  than  for  the  settlement  of  an  agricultural 
colony. 

We  left  Philadelphia  on  the  1 7th  of  Decem- 
ber, 181 7,  and  on  the  15th  of  January,  18 18, 
we  anchored  off  Galveston,  our  chosen  rendez- 
vous. We  landed  our  stores  on  the  island, 
and  made  a  temporary  camp,  where  we  deter- 
mined to  await  the  arrival  of  General  Lallemand 
the  elder,  who  was  at  New  Orleans  buying 
agricultural  implements,  plants  and  seeds,  pro- 
visions of  a  miscellaneous  kind,  etc.  The 
island  of  Galveston,  which  now  bears  an  im- 
portant city,  and  is  the  Episcopal  See  of  Texas, 


6o  ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

was  at  that  time  only  a  barren,  sandy  wilder- 
ness, wholly  without  resources  of  its  own.  We 
built  cabins  of  reeds  and  of  the  spars  we  found 
on  the  island,  and  dug  a  deep  trench  round  the 
camp  to  protect  it  against  the  aggressions  of 
the  mainland  Indians,  or,  in  case  of  need, 
against  the  pirates,  of  whose  disposition  toward 
us  we  were  yet  ignorant,  and  who  inhabited 
that  part  of  the  island  in  which  they  stored 
their  booty. 

The  pirates  were  under  the  leadership  of 
Lafitte,  a  French  sailor  who  had  distinguished 
himself  during  the  war  of  the  Empire  by  the 
number  of  prizes  he  had  captured  from  the 
English.  Since  peace  had  been  proclaimed  in 
Europe,  he  had  offered  his  services  to  the 
revolted  Spanish  colonies,  and  under  their  flag, 
and  in  the  name  of  freedom,  pillaged  every 
Spanish  craft  that  he  fell  in  with.  These  fili- 
busters, for  such  indeed  they  were,  were  gath- 
ered from  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  seemed  determined  to  put  in  practice  the 
traditions  of  the  buccaneers  of  old.  They  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  most  shameless  debauch- 
ery and  disgusting  immorality,  and  only  their 
chief,  with  his  extraordinary  strength  of  limb 


^VENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  6 1 

and  his  indomitable  resolution,  had  the  slightest 
control  over  their  wild  and  savage  natures. 
Thanks  to  him,  the  pirates  became  harmless 
neighbors  to  the  exiles,  with  whom  they  often 
interchanged  marks  of  political  sympathy, 
crying  amicably, "  Long  Live  Liberty  !" 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1818  (this  date  is 
memorable),  General  Lallemand  and  a  hundred 
more  emigrants  from  New  Orleans  at  last 
appeared  before  Galveston.  He  found  his  old 
comrades,  though  wearied,  by  no  means  dis- 
couraged, and  eager  to  go  on  in  their  perilous 
undertaking. 

On  the  24th  we  took  to  sea  again  in  ten 
large  boats  bought  from  the  pirates.  One  of 
them,  carried  out  to  sea  by  a  strong  under- 
current, was  swamped,  and  of  her  crew  of  six 
men,  only  Monsieur  Chenet,  formerly  an  in- 
fantry lieutenant  in  the  Old  Guard,  was  saved. 
It  was  a  gloomy  omen  of  the  many  misfortunes 
that  awaited  us ! 

We  ascended  the  Rio  Trinidad  undo/  the 
guidance  of  some  Indians  with  whom  we  had 
already  established  friendly  relations,  thanks  to 
a  few  bottles  of  rum  and  some  knives  and 
muskets.     These  Indians,  who  hated  the  Span- 


62  ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

iards,  had  a  kindly  remembrance  of  the  French, 
whom  they  had  known  in  the  neighboring 
State  of  Louisiana.  They  seemed  glad  to  be 
able  to  do  us  a  service.  After  several  days  we 
landed  on  an  immense  uninhabited  plain,  sev- 
eral leagues  in  extent,  and  surrounded  by  a  belt 
of  woods  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  river. 
A  fruitful  soil,  an  abundance  of  tropical  plants 
and  flowers,  a  river  as  wide  as  the  Seine,  but 
full  of  alligators,  a  sky  as  pure  and  a  climate  as 
temperate  as  that  of  Naples— such  were  the 
advantages  of  the  place  we  had  chosen,  and 
which  we  now  christened  "  Camp  Asylum." 

Our  first  days  here  were  not  devoid  of  hard- 
ships. The  colony  was  obliged  to  protect  itself 
against  wild  beasts  and  reptiles,  especially  the 
rattlesnakes,  which  abound  in  those  parts,  while, 
as  if  to  make  things  worse,  the  boats  bringing 
the  stores  from  Galveston  to  Camp  Asylum 
were  delayed  on  the  road,  so  that  we  suffered 
all  the  torments  of  hunger  for  a  whole  week. 
At  last  the  boats  came  safely  to  land,  and  the 
Choctaws  and  other  tribes  poured  in  to  visit 
the  camps.  We  Frenchmen  are  light-hearted 
beings,  and  soon  merriment  and  hope  regained 
the  upper  hand  amongst  us.     We    began  tc 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRFNCH   CYPTAIN.  63 

oelieve  in  ourselves  once  more,  and  proceeded 
to  organize  our  settlement.  Three  divisions 
were  formed — infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery,  for 
we  thought  nothing  but  a  military  government 
could  be  trusted  to  endure.  Fortifications 
were  built  to  protect  the  camp  against  the  in- 
roads of  the  Spaniards  or  Indians.  They  con- 
sisted of  two  little  forts,  called  respectively  Fort 
Napoleon  and  Fort  Lallemand,  each  surrounded 
by  a  trench  two  yards  deep,  and  communicating 
with  one  another  by  means  of  a  covered  way 
that  effectually  protected  all  the  ground  over 
which  our  settlement  had  spread. 

While  busy  with  these  preliminaries,  we  often 
met  in  council  before  Generals  Lallemand  and 
Bigard  to  hear  and  discuss  divers  propositions 
as  to  our  organization.  Nothing  was  allowed 
to  become  law  before  we  had  all  deliberated 
upon  it.  One  of  the  first  measures  proposed 
was  the  publication  of  a  manifesto  setting  forth 
our  peaceable  intentions,  and  our  wish  to  open 
friendly  intercourse  with  all  our  neighbors. 
This  manifesto,  translated  into  English  and 
Spanish,  was  sent  to  the  United  States  and  to 
Europe,  where  it  was  copied  into  all  the  papers 
of  the  day.     Here  is  an  abstract  of  it : 


64  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

"Camp  Asylum,  Texas,  May  n,  1818. 

"  Gathered  together  by  a  series  of  similar 
misfortunes,  which  have  first  driven  us  from 
our  homes  and  then  scattered  us  abroad  in  va- 
rious lands,  we  have  now  resolved  to  seek  an 
asylum  where  we  can  remember  our  misfortunes 
in  order  to  profit  by  them.  We  see  before  us 
a  vast  extent  of  territory,  at  present  uninhab- 
ited by  civilized  mankind,  and  the  extreme 
limits  of  which  are  in  possession  of  Indian- 
tribes  who,  caring  for  nothing  but  the  chase, 
leave  these  broad  acres  uncultivated.  Strong 
in  adversity,  we  claim  the  first  right  given  by 
God  to  man — that  of  settling  in  this  country, 
clearing  it,  and  using  the  produce  which  nature 
never  refuses  to  the  patient  laborer. 

"We  attack  no  one,  and  harbor  no  warlike  in- 
tentions. We  ask  peace  and  friendship  from  all 
those  who  surround  us,  and  we  shall  be  grate- 
ful for  the  slightest  token  of  their  good-will. 
We  shall  respect  the  laws,  religion,  and  customs 
of  our  civilized  neighbors ;  we  shall  equally  re- 
spect the  independence  and  customs  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  whom  we  engage  not  to  molest 
in  their  hunts  or  in  any  other  exercise  peculiar 
to  them.     We  shall  establish  neighborly  rela- 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  65 

tions  with  all  such  as  shall  approach  us,  and 
also,  if  possible,  trading  relations.  Our  be- 
havior will  be  peaceable,  active,  and  industri- 
ous ;  we  shall  do  our  utmost  to  make  ourselves 
useful,  and  to  render  good  for  good.  But  if  it 
should  appear  that  our  settlement  be  not  re- 
spected, and  that  persecution  should  seek  us 
out,  even  in  the  wilds  in  which  we  have  taken 
refuge,  no  reasonable  man  will  find  fault  with 
us  for  resisting  it.  We  shall  be  ready  to  de- 
vote ourselves'to  the  defence  of  our  settlement. 
Our  resolve  is  taken  beforehand.  We  are 
armed,  as  the  necessity  of  our  position  requires 
that  we  should  be,  and  as  men  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances have  always  been.  The  land  we 
have  come  to  reclaim  will  either  witness  our  suc- 
cess or  our  death.  We  wish  to  live  here  honor- 
ably and  in  freedom,  or  to  find  a  grave  which 
the  justice  of  man  will  hereafter  decree  to  be 
that  of  heroes.  We  have  the  right,  however, 
to  expect  a  more  fortunate  result,  and  our  first 
care  shall  be  to  deserve  general  approbation  by 
laying  down  the  principles  by  which  we  mean 
to  steer  our  bark. 

"  We  shall  call  the    new  settlement    Camp 
Asylum.     This  name,  while  it  reminds  us  of 


OO  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

our  misfortunes,  will  likewise  express  the  ne- 
cessity of  providing  for  our  future,  of  establish- 
ing new  hearths  and  homes — in  a  word,  of  creat- 
ing a  new  Fatherland.  The  colony,  which  will 
be  purely  agricultural  and  commercial  in  princi- 
ple, will  be  military  solely  for  its  own  protec- 
tion ;  it  will  be  divided  into  three  companies, 
each  under  a  chief,  who  will  be  bound  to  keep  a 
register  of  the  names  of  those  forming  this  com- 
pany. A  general  register,  compiled  from  the 
three  partial  ones,  will  be  kept,  at  the  central 
d£pot  of  the  colony.  The  companies  will  each  be 
gathered  together  in  one  place  in  order  the  bet- 
ter to  avoid  attacks  from  the  outside,  and  to  live 
peaceably  under  the  eye  of  authority.  A  code 
of  laws  will  be  drawn  up  at  once,  which  will 
secure  personal  liberty  and  the  immunity  of 
property,  repress  injustice,  and  maintain  peace 
among  the  good,  while  it  will  make  void  the 
plans  of  the  evil." 

This  proclamation  made  a  great  noise  in 
Europe,  and,  above  all,  in  France,  exciting  the 
admiration  of  the  liberals  and  the  sneers  of  the 
opposite  party.  The  Minerva,  a  fortnightly 
review  of  the  day,  immediately  opened  a  sub- 
scription  list   for   the    settlers.      A   hundred 


ADVENTURES  OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  67 

thousand  francs  were  subscribed,  of  which  not 
a  penny  ever  reached  us.  In  addition  to  this, 
there  was  the  wrong  produced  by  the  sale  of  a 
pamphlet,  by  Monsieur  Shiritiar,  published  by 
Ladrocat,  which  went  through  two  editions, 
and  was  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  refu- 
gees. Before  the  close  of  the  subscription, 
Camp  Asylum  had  been  already  broken  up, 
and  its  members  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  What  became  of  the  money  is  a 
question  that  still  remains  unsolved.  While 
party  spirit  in  France  now  aided,  now  abused 
us,  the  people's  poet,  Beranger,  sang  of  us  in 
these  words : 

"  Noble  wrecks  of  honor's  field 
Cultivate  the  field  of  shelter." 

What  were  we  actually  doing  in  distant 
Texas?  Far  from  cultivating  our  fields,  we 
were,  alas !  only  digging  trenches,  and  this  bar- 
ren work  occupied  the  whole  four  or  five 
months  of  our  stay  in  Texas.  We  had  no  men 
among  us  with  a  taste  for,  or  skilled  in,  agricul- 
ture ;  above  all,  we  had  not  men  enough  to  under- 
take any  thing  on  a  large  scale,  so  that  we  were 
unable  to  do  any  thing  seriously  tending  toward 


68  ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

a  permanent  settlement.  It  is  true  that  a  few 
of  the  San  Domingo  colonists  had  joined  our 
number,  but  many  of  them,  either  through  hv 
capacity  or  laziness,  had  long  vegetated  at 
Charleston  or  Mobile,  and  having  only  joined 
us  in  the  forlorn  hope  of  bettering  themselves, 
were  in  such  absolute  destitution  that,  far  from 
being  any  help  to  us,  they  were  only  a  burden. 
Others  had  been  employed  by  rich  Americans 
on  their  sugar  or  cotton  plantations  in  Louisi- 
ana or  the  Carolinas.  The  few  of  this  category 
who  had  answered  our  appeal  were  indeed 
competent  to  direct  profitable  undertakings, 
but  we  lacked  hands  for  the  work,  and  most 
of  these  men,  having  assured  themselves  of  the 
impracticability  of  our  plan,  left  us  at  once  and 
returned  to  their  former  employers. 

I  had  made  friends  with  one  of  these,  who 
had  known  Monsieur  Tournel  at  San  Domingo. 
His  name  was  Collin;  he  was  manager  of  a 
plantation  forty  miles  from  New  Orleans,  and 
on  the  shores  of  the  Mississippi,  belonging  to 
a  rich  Louisianian,  himself  of  French  extrac- 
tion. His  employer,  who  took  a  great 
interest  in  our  undertaking,  had  not  only  con- 
sented to  let  Collin  join  us,  but  had  promised, 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  69 

in  case  of  our  possible  success,  to  furnish 
negroes,  mules,  and  implements,  on  condition 
of  receiving  a  reasonable  share  of  the  profits  of 
the  new  plantations. 

Collin  said  to  me  one  day,  after  a  deliberate 
survey  of  the  ground  and  a  patient  examination 
into  our  resources  : 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  under  the 
sun  a  richer  and  more  fruitful  soil  than  this, 
and  it  would  be  a  pity  if  through  the  incapacity 
of  the  settlers  these  advantages  should  be  lost. 
I  am  convinced  that  something  can  be  done, 
and  I  do  not  mean  to  give  up  the  undertaking 
altogether,  as  many  of  my  colleagues  have  done, 
believing  in  the  impossibility  of  success.  I 
shall  go  home  to  my  employer,  and  if  I  suc- 
ceed in  finding  a  capable  and  honest  partner,  I 
shall  return  with  means  to  make  a  proper 
settlement.  If  you  like  to  join  us,  there  is 
plenty  of  room  for  three  to  grow  rich  on  such 
an  enterprise  as  I  have  in  my  mind's  eye." 

I  told  him  that  I  should  very  much  like  to 
do  so,  and  at  the  same  time  recommended 
Monsieur  Tournel  as  a  fit  partner.  He  acqui- 
esced in  my  views,  saying  that  Monsieur  Tour- 
nel was  a  prudent  man,  perfectly  well  suited  to 


"JO  ADVENTURES   OP"   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

embark  in  such  a  partnership.  He  told  me, 
moreover,  that  he  would  go  direct  to  Baltimore 
and  see  Tournel  in  person,  before  he  returned 
to  his  employer  in  Louisiana.  I  did  my  best  to 
encourage  him  in  this  resolution,  and  gave  him 
a  letter  for  Monsieur  Tournel,  in  which  I 
begged  my  friend  to  give  ear  to  Collin's  pro- 
posal, and  perform  his  promise  to  meet  me  as 
soon  as  possible.  "  Up  to  this,"  I  wrote,  "  our 
settlement  is  altogether  military  and  not  agri- 
cultural, but  it  is  quite  capable  of  protecting 
the  agriculturists  who  may  come  out  to  us. 
This  assured  safety  is  one  of  the  most  indis- 
pensable conditions  of  the  success  of  a  rural 
and  industrial  colony.  Your  example  will  de- 
termine others,  and  your  experience  will  direct 
us  in  a  road  for  which  our  former  education 
and  habits  have  till  now  unfitted  us."  I 
ended  by  asking  him  to  draw  all  my  money 
from  the  Maryland  Bank,  that  it  might  serve 
as  my  contribution  to  the  funds  of  our  new 
settlement.  Monsieur  Collin  left  us  the  first 
week  in  June,  promising  to  write  as  soon  as 
possible. 

I  felt  very  lonely  after  his  departure.     We 
were  all  getting  weary  of  inaction,  and   our 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  71 

camp  life  was  insufferably  monotonous.  We 
hardly  allowed  ourselves  even  the  pleasure  or 
excitement  of  a  hunt,  though  game  was  abun- 
dant, and  if  we  did,  it  was  with  the  greatest 
circumspection  or  in  large  parties,  as  it  was 
feared  that  the  Comanches  or  the  Pawnees 
would  not  have  scrupled  to  scalp  isolated  in- 
dividuals had  any  one  ventured  out  alone  with 
his  gun.  The  camp  was  as  severely  guarded  as 
it  might  have  been  in  the  days  of  the  Empire. 
The  battalion  officers  were  but  common  officers 
according  to  their  real  grade,  and  the  captains 
were  lieutenants  or  sub-lieutenants  for  the 
nonce ;  those  in  their  turn  had  become  non- 
commissioned officers,  while  the  quartermasters, 
sergeants,  and  other  inferior  officers  had  become 
privates.  This  was,  to  say  the  least,  a  disagree- 
able state  of  things. 

As  we  had  very  little  special  knowledge 
outside  our  profession,  we  took  to  drill  and 
military  manoeuvres  as  a  pastime,  after  our  work 
in  the  trenches  was  done.  We  had  one  com- 
mon mess,  and  bivouacked  as  if  we  were  in  an 
enemy's  country,  except  the  generals,  two  or 
three  superior  officers,  and  the  -women,  for 
whom  we  had  built  large  and  not  uncomfort- 


72         ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

able  cabins.  A  large  fire  was  kept  up  all  night 
to  frighten  away  wild  beasts,  and  round  this  we 
each  spent  part  of  the  night,  telling  and  listen- 
ing to  all  kinds  of  tales.  We  called  the  fire 
the  Palais  Royal,  and  the  gossippers  the  hum- 
ming-birds.  (The  arcades  of  this  building  in 
Paris  are  the  resort  of  all  the  loungers  and 
gossippers  of  the  town.)  The  French  mind  is 
always  the  same,  under  all  circumstances,  grave 
or  gay !  Sometimes  General  Lallemand  would 
join  the  circle  and  entertain  the  veterans 
gathered  under  his  sway  with  some  scraps  of 
his  last  conversations  with  the  great  emperor. 

Often,  under  the  influence  of  the  general's 
eager  talk,  his  hearers  would  indulge  in  the 
wildest  dreams  and  imagine  the  most  impossi- 
ble combinations.  At  such  times  the  settle- 
ment, of  Texas  seemed  far  enough  from  their 
thoughts.  They  were  eager  to  serve  under  the 
Mexican  flag  and  help  that  country  to  throw 
off  the  Spanish  yoke,  after  which  they  could 
easily  persuade  the  Mexicans  to  give  them  a 
fast  sailer,  with  which  they  would  storm  the 
island  of  St.  Helena,  carry  off  the  emperor  in 
triumph,  and  crown  him  Emperor  of  Mexico. 
.  .  .  Thus,  indeed,   the   burning   imaginations 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH  CAPTAIN.  73 

of  these  brave  men  would  run  away  with  them 
to  that  degree  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
keep  pace  with  their  vagaries. 

But  even  these  amusements  were  inter- 
wrought  to  disguise  from  us  the  growing 
precariousness  of  our  position.  General  Lalle- 
mand  then  thought  of  giving  us  an  entertain- 
ment of  his  own  invention.  He  had  just 
concluded  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  Indian 
tribes — the  Choctaws,  the  Comanches,  and 
others  whose  names  I  have  forgotten.  These 
tribes,  some  of  which  had  been  rather  hostile 
to  us  at  first,  had  gradually  understood  our 
peaceable  intention,  and  often  visited  us  now, 
selling  us  fruit  and  game  for  an  equivalent 
in  brandy  or  beads,  etc.  The  treaty  was 
solemnly  ratified  We  were  armed  cap-a-pie  to 
do  honor  to  the  chiefs,  who  had  donned  their 
most  ceremonial  costume.  They  had  added  to 
their  majestic  red  blankets  helmets  with  nod- 
ding feathers,  wampum  belts,  tin  necklaces  and 
breastplates,  rings  hanging  from  their  necks, 
cars,  and  nose,  and,  disgusting  to  relate,  their 
favorite  trophies  of  scalps  hanging  from  their 
girdle.      Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  their 


74         ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

strange  appearance  when  I  say  that  besides 
this  paraphernalia,  their  faces,  arms,  and  chests 
were  painted  in  odd  patterns  and  staring 
colors. 

A  great  deal  of  rum  was  distributed  during 
the  ceremony,  and  the  Indians  gradually  got 
excited  ;  their  native  gravity  of  demeanor  gave 
place  to  eager  protestations  and  warm  declara- 
tions of  esteem  and  good-will,  and  at  last,  in 
their  spurious  enthusiasm,  they  chose  General 
Lallemand  as  their  "great  chief."  He  made  no 
objection  to  accepting  the  dignity,  and  allowed 
himself  very  seriously  to  be  invested  with  the 
appropriate  insignia  of  his  new  honors.  This 
rather  grotesque  ceremony  cost  us  many  bottles 
of  rum,  which  the  Indians  daily  came  in  to 
drink  in  honor  of  their  new  allies  and  brethrea 

A  few  days  later  we  enjoyed  another  enter- 
tainment, which  we  relished  better  than  the 
Indian  farce.  We  gave  a  ball  on  the  occasion 
of  Mademoiselle  Bigard's  birthday  (the  gen- 
eral's daughter),  and  invited  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  town  of  San 
Antonio  de  Bejar,  formerly  the  capital  of  the 
province.     Every  one,  men  and  women,  came 


ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  J$ 

at  our  call.  The  gathering  presented  the  most 
motley  array  of  whites,  half-breeds,  and  even 
Indians;  this  crew  seemed  to  me  a  burlesque 
representation  of  the  principle  of  equality. 
Our  guests  spoke  nothing  but  Spanish,  but  as 
we  had  nearly  all  served  in  the  Peninsula,  we 
knew  Spanish  pretty  well,  and  found  no  trouble 
in  understanding  them. 

This  ball  was  followed  by  two  or  three  more, 
only  less  crowded.  These  gatherings  were 
not  mere  pleasure  parties ;  they  also  served  a 
diplomatic  end.  The  Texans  of  Bejar,  Bohio, 
and  Goliad,  as  of  some  other  neighboring  set- 
tlements, had  long  been  dissatisfied  with  the 
Spanish  yoke,  which  they  had  twice  unsuccess- 
fully endeavored  to  shake  off.  Beaten  and 
conquered,  they  had  seen  this  country  given 
up  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Spanish  garrisons 
quartered  at  Nacogdoches  and  other  places. 
When  we  came  among  them,  the  Texans 
hoped  that  we  should  at  least  prove  useful 
auxiliaries,  and  they  gladly  took  the  opportu^ 
nity  of  making  acquaintance  with  us,  to  learn 
our  intentions  and  see  if  they  could  depend 
upon  us.     These  friendly  relations  soon  raised 


76  ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties, and  the  Texan  colonists  received  peremp- 
tory orders  to  cease  their  intercourse  with  our 
camp,  under  heavy  penalties  in  case  of  dis- 
obedience. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SAD     CONDITION      OF     THE      COLONY MONSIEUR 

TOURNEL'S   LETTER TREATY  BETWEEN  SPAIN 

AND    THE     UNITED    STATES THE    POLICY     OF 

THE  TWO  GOVERNMENTS EXPULSION  OF  THE 

FRENCH    FROM     CAMP     ASYLUM RETREAT    TO 

GALVESTON SUFFERINGS    OF    THE    COLONISTS 

SICKNESS — STORM  IN  THE  GULF    OF  MEXICO 

AND     INUNDATION  OF  THE  ISLAND DANGERS 

RUN    BY  THE  SETTLERS DEPARTURE  OF    THE 

SICK   FOR    NEW  ORLEANS 1  LEAVE  WITH  SOME 

OF  THE  SETTLERS,  INTENDING  TO  REACH  LOUIS- 
IANA    BY     LAND FATE    OF    THOSE  WHO    HAD 

GONE  BY  SEA MARENGO  COUNTY  AND  EAGLES- 

VILLE    ON     THE     TOMBIGBEE FINAL    DISPER' 

SION  OF  THE  REFUGEES  OF  CAMP  ASYLUM. 

Here  we  were  once  more  left  to  ourselves, 
without  amusements  or  occupations,  without 
news  either  from  Europe  or  from  the  States. 
To  cap  all,  many  fell  sick,  either  of  home-sick- 
ness 01  through  their  unaccustomed  hardships 
and  labors  in  this  tropical  clime. 


7S  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

We  looked  sadly  and  despondingly  for  the 
return  of  our  comrades,  which  would  have 
cheered  us  and  given  us  new  strength  where- 
with to  fall  to  work  and  clear  and  cultivate 
our  fields,  but,  like  Sister  Anne  in  the  tale  of 
"  Blue  Beard,"  we  saw  nothing  coming.  After  a 
weary  month,  there  came  at  last  a  boat  sent  by 
the  pirate  Lafitte,  bringing  us  provisions  of  a 
different  sort  from  what  we  had,  and  a  Wge 
collection  of  European  and  American  news- 
papers, besides  letters.  I  got  a  letter  from 
Monsieur  Tournel,  in  answer  to  that  which 
Monsieur  Collin  had  taken  to  him  from  me. 
I  need  not  say  how  I  devoured  it ;  I  was  in 
hopes  of  finding  in  it  an  echo  of  my  own  pleas- 
ant anticipations,  but  there  was  instead  nothing 
but  disappointment  in  store  for  me.  I  have 
never  forgotten  the  following  passages  : 

"  Monsieur  Collin  has  executed  your  com- 
mission and  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  plan  of 
a  threefold  partnership  of  which  I  am  to  be  a 
member,  and  which  is  to  undertake  a  settle- 
ment in  Texas.  The  idea  has  always  been 
pleasant  to  me,  and  I  was  glad  to  see  it 
adopted  by  a  man  of  so  practical  a  nature  as 
Monsieur  Collin.  I  had  begun  to  think  seriously 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  fg 

of  his  proposal  and  to  calculate  upon  the 
means  of  carrying  it  out,  when  we  were  startled 
by  most  unexpected  news.  An  article  in 
one  of  the  American  papers  gave  out  that  a 
definitive  treaty  had  been  entered  into  by  the 
United  States  and  Spain,  regulating  the  exact 
limits  of  their  respective  possessions.  The 
Sabine  River  was  henceforth  to  become  the 
boundary  between  Louisiana  and  Texas,  and 
the  American  Government  formally  gave  up 
all  claims  to  the  latter  province. 

"  It  follows  that  Camp  Asylum  is  now  in  the 
midst  of  Spanish  territory,  and  is  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Spanish  Government,  while  no  clause  of 
the  treaty  stipulates  for  the  slightest  immunity 
of  the  French  refugees.  They  are  not  even 
mentioned,  and  the  document  would  lead  one 
to  suppose  that  they  were  non-existent. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is  they 
alone  who  have  been  the  cause  of  this  new 
treaty,  and  that  although  your  name  is  pur- 
posely omitted  in  the  terms  of  the  alliance,  a 
secret  article  has  been  prepared,  which  will 
serve  to  give  you  over  to  a  hard  fate. 

"  It  is  known  that  your  settlement,  far  from 
increasing  by  the  influx  of  new  bodies  of  im- 


80  ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

migrants,  is  daily  dwindling  into  insignificance, 
and  becoming  less  and  less  capable  of  resist- 
ance. Spain  will  send  a  sufficient  force  to  dis- 
lodge you,  and  the  American  Government  will 
officially  notify  you  thrat,  being  out  of  their  juris- 
diction, they  can  do  nothing  to  protect  you  ; 
but  that  if  you  will  return  within  the  frontiers, 
ihey  will  give  you  land  to  clear  at  a  proper 
distance  from  the  Spanish  settlements. 

"  In  a  word,  my  dear  friend,  your  settlement 
of  Camp  Asylum  is  doomed,  and  jthere  is  no 
hope  of  even  a  reprieve.  You  will  ask  me  how 
can  the  United  States  Government  so  disgrace 
itself  as  to  give  up  to  Ferdinand  VII.  unof- 
fending exiles  whom  it  has  sworn  to  protect  ? 

"  Know,  then,  that  diplomacy  ignores  senti- 
ment and  is  based  upon  interest,  and  that  our 
young  American  Republic  follows  in  the  wake 
of  the  selfish  old  monarchical  diplomacy  of 
Europe. 

"  Allow  me  to  suggest  that  your  chiefs  are 
also  somewhat  to  blame  in  the  matter.  They 
have  found  a  suitable  place  for  a  colony ;  why 
could  they  not  occupy  it  quietly  without  rous- 
ing the  ill-will  and  suspicion  of  the  Spanish 
authorities  ?     But,  instead  of  that,  they  address 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  8l 

a  blustering  note  to  the  Court  of  Madrid,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  ominous  silence  of  the  court, 
boldly  carry  out  their  plan  and  hardly  reach 
their  destination  before  they  again  publish  a 
manifesto  through  whose  fair  words  runs  a 
thread  of  subdued  hostility.  Either  they  should 
not  have  perpetrated  a  ridiculous  boast  of  this 
sort,  or  they  should  have  been  fully  prepared  to 
make  it  good. 

"  Any  man  of  common-sense  would  have  fore- 
seen what  has  happened  in  consequence.  The 
noise  produced  by  the  manifesto  in  Europe, 
the  formation  of  a  military  colony  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  a  country  already  disaffected  toward 
Spain,  roused  the  suspicion  of  Ferdinand  VII.'s 
government.  They  saw  in  your  presence 
an  additional  thorn  in  their  side,  and  have 
taken  speedy  measures  to  get  rid  of  you. 

"  The  lands  on  which  you  had  settled  were 
claimed  both  by  Spain  and  the  United  States. 
Negotiations  had  long  been  pending  on  the 
subject;  Spain  now  hastened  to  clinch  them, 
and  has  obtained,  whether  by  commercial  or 
other  concessions  I  know  not  (since  this  be- 
longs to  the  secret  part  of  the  treaty),  the  with- 
drawal of  the  equivocal  claims  of  the   United 


82  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

States  on  this  part  of  Texas,  and  the  under- 
standing that  the  Sabine  River  shall  henceforth 
be  the  boundary  between  the  two  powers. 

"  Should  you  complain  of  this  arrangement 
as  a  violation  of  the  right  of  sanctuary,  the 
American  Government  might  easily  reply  thus : 
•  In  what  have  we  violated  your  right  ?  We 
offered,  and  still  offer,  to  protect  and  harbor 
you,  but  only  within  the  limits  of  our  own 
States,  not  beyond  our  frontier.  We  did  not 
wish  or  urge  you  to  go  to  Texas,  and  your 
position  as  political  exiles,  sacred  as  it  may  be, 
cannot  be  used  as  a  pretext  for  involving  us  in 
quarrels  with  our  neighbors  and  allies.' 

"  Such  is  the  position  of  affairs  ;  illusion  is  no 
longer  possible,  and  the  end  will  be  attained  by 
the  time  this  letter  reaches  you.  Let  your 
generals  know  of  this,  if  they  have  not  already 
learned  it,  so  that  they  may  take  the  measures 
requisite  under  these  circumstances,  and,  above 
all,  may  not  offer  a  useless  resistance,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  which  would  lay  wholly  at  their 
doors. 

"  As  for  yourself,  my  dear  friend,  pray  make 
haste  to  return  to  us  ;  we  can  easily  find  some 
suitable  place  for  you,  the  hardships  you  have 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  83 

undergone  having  disposed  your  friends  more 
than  ever  in  your  favor.  Monsieur  Collin  is 
still  here,  and  cannot  leave  for  Louisiana  for  a 
few  days  to  come  ;  he  and  I  often  speak  of 
you.  When  he  talks  to  me  about  Texas  and 
of  the  resources  of  that  beautiful  country,  I 
cannot  help  regretting  the  failure — or,  let  me 
say  the  adjournment — of  our  hopes ;  for,  despite 
what  has  taken  place  just  now,  I  do  not  de- 
spair of  seeing  our  plans  realized  one  of  these 
days.  But,  in  order  to  succeed,  we  will  go  to 
work  differently  from  the  unlucky  founders  of 
Camp  Asylum." 

"  P.  S. — Under  these  circumstances  I  did 
not  deem  it  advisable  to  draw  your  capital 
from  the  bank,  and,  accordingly,  I  send  you  a 
small  loan  of  two  hundred  dollars,  which  we 
can  settle  for  on  your  return  to  Baltimore." 

The  newspapers  accompanying  this  letter 
confirmed  the  discouraging  news  which  it  held. 
It  was  now  known  all  through  the  camp ;  many 
of  us  had  learned  it  through  their  correspond- 
ents, and,  indeed,  our  generals  had  known  it 
some  days  before,  but  had  preferred  to  hold 
their  tongues  about  it  until  it  should  be  more 
definitely  corroborated.     As  Monsieur  Tournel 


84  ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

truly  said,  the  end  was  near  at  hand.  Our  In- 
dian allies  and  some  inhabitants  of  Bejar  came 
during  the  day  to  tell  us  that  a  Spanish  detach- 
ment was  already  on  its  way  to  attack  us.  It 
consisted  of  twelve  hundred  infantry,  three  hun- 
dred cavalry,  and  several  pieces  of  ordnance. 
It  was  rapidly  nearing  us.  We  had  only  two 
hundred  men  capable  of  bearing  arms ;  the  rest 
were  sick  or  disabled,  but,  notwithstanding  this 
disparity  of  numbers,  we  determined  to  repulse 
the  foe,  to  fight  them  gallantly  or  die  like 
Frenchmen,  as  General  Lallemand  pithily  ex- 
pressed it.  The  Spanish  general,  however, 
whether  prevented  by  secret  orders  from  tak- 
ing the  initiative,  or  determined  to  draw  a  cor- 
don round  us,  merely  camped  his  troops  within 
three  days'  march  of  our  camp,  and  waited  till 
disease  and  discouragement  should  undermine 
our — not  very  formidable — body.  This  man- 
oeuvre could  not  but  be  successful  in  the  long- 
run,  and  the  Spanish  general  soon  reaped  its 
consequences. 

Meanwhile  no  help  came  either  from  Europe 
or  from  the  United  States,  and  we  could  not 
fight  an  enemy  that  seemed  determined  not  to 
attack  us,  and  then  we,  on  the  other  hand,  were 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  85 

too  weak  to  attack.  We  were  obliged  to  beat 
a  retreat,  which  we  accomplished  in  good  or- 
der, experiencing  no  molestation  at  the  hands 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  no  remonstrances  from 
the  Indians,  who,  with  supreme  indifference, 
witnessed  the  departure  of  their  "  great  chief," 
General  Lallemand.  The  boats  that  we  had 
were  enough  to  take  us  down  the  river  Trini- 
dad as  far  as  the  island  of  Galveston,  where  we 
established  ourselves  for  the  second  time. 

The  island,  or  rather  sand-bank,  was  not  as 
healthy  as  the  shores  of  the  river  we  had  left 
behind  us.  We  had  scarcely  landed  when  all 
the  evils  of  those  tropical  climates — scurvy, 
dysentery,  and  fever — broke  out  amongst  us, 
and  gradually  assumed  a  very  serious  character. 
General  Lallemand  was  solicited  by  the  Great 
Council,  composed  of  twenty-four  members,  to 
go  to  New  Orleans  to  buy  medicine  and  pro- 
visions, as  well  as  to  beg  for  help.  He  left  the 
following  day  with  two  aides-de-camp.  Many 
of  our  number  would  have  been  too  glad  to  ac- 
company him,  but  there  was  only  room  for  a 
few  passengers,  and  we  were  obliged  to  restrain 
our  impatience.  The  general  kindly  took  our 
correspondence  with  him,  and  I  took  advan- 


86         ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

tage  of  this  opportunity  to  write  again  to  Mon- 
sieur Tournel. 

A  few  days  after  the  general's  departure  an 
awful  calamity  visited  us.  It  was  autumn,  and 
the  equinoctial  gales  were  blowing ;  storms  are 
very  frequent  in  the  Gulf,  of  Mexico  in  that 
season.  A  fearful  hurricane  swept  over  the'  sea 
on  the  28th  of  September,  lashing  the  waves 
mountain-high  and  driving  them  over  the 
island,  so  that  our  camp  was  speedily  under 
water  to  the  height  of  eight  or  nine  feet.  As 
the  flood  increased  on  the  shore,  we  retired  in- 
land to  the  more  hilly  portion  of  the  island, 
where  two  solid  log  cabins  had  been  built. 
For  three  days  and  three  nights  we  sat  in  these 
cabins  entrenching  ourselves  against  the  fury 
of  the  elements.  Our  danger  was  imminent, 
and  we  owed  our  safety  only  to  our  unremit- 
ting efforts  in  keeping  aloof,  with  oars  and 
poles,  the  trunks  of  uprooted  trees  and  spars 
of  wrecks  which  the  water  flung  up  against  our 
cabin.  At  last  the  storm  subsided,  the  sea  re- 
tired, and  we  were  no  longer  in  danger  of 
drowning,  but  our  slender  resources  were  gone 
forever ;  our  food  and  powder  had  all  been 
swept  away. 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  87 

The  pirate  Lafitte  again  came  to  our  aid, 
but  all  he  could  do  was  of  little  permanent 
good  to  us.  Misfortune  and  idleness  had  done 
their  work,  and  sowed  dissension  in  our  midst 
to  such  a  degree,  that  I  believe,  had  this  state 
of  things  lasted  much  longer,  we  should  have 
quarrelled  among  ourselves.  After  two  months 
of  agonizing  suspense,  we  received  news  from 
General  Lallemand  to  the  effect  that  all  hope 
of  founding  a  colony  in  Texas  was  at  an  end, 
but  that  Congress  had  offered  to  give  us 
a  grant  of  land  in  Alabama,  on  the  Tombig- 
bee,  and  that  we  had  better  make  haste  and 
join  him  (the  General)  at  New  Orleans. 

To  leave  our  present  shelter  was  sooner  said 
than  done,  though  every  one  was  delighted  at 
the  idea  of  leaving  the  island.  We  required 
some  means  of  transport,  and  this  was  just 
what  General  Lallemand  had  forgotten  to  send 
us.  The  pirate  Lafitte  came  to  our  help  once 
more.  He  sold  us  a  small  craft,  unfortunately 
so  small  that  it  would  only  hold  the  sick ;  as 
for  those  in  good  health,  it  was  settled  that 
they  should  await  the  return  of  the  little  bark, 
unless  they  preferred  starting  for  Louisiana 
overland,  in  which  case  Lafitte  offered  to  take 


88  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

them  across  to  the  mainland,  which  was  only 
four  miles  distant. 

Many  of  us,  and  myself  among  the  number, 
gladly  caught  at  this  plan.  We  should  have 
had  to  wait  at  least  a  month  before  we  could 
expect  the  ship  back  from  New  Orleans,  and 
even  then  all  could  not  have  been  stowed  on 
board  at  once.  We  should  have  been  com- 
pelled to  draw  lots  to  see  who  would  have  the 
chance  of  being  first,  and,  for  my  part  at  least, 
I  infinitely  preferred  the  risks  and  fatigues  of 
an  overland  journey  to  the  dismal  prospect  of 
two  or  three  months'  stay  in  this  ill-fated 
island.  About  sixty  of  our  number  adopted 
the  same  determination,  but  as  Lafitte  could 
not  take  us  all  across  at  once,  and  as,  besides, 
such  a  numerous  caravan  might  have  attract- 
ed too  much  attention  on  the  part  of  the 
Spanish  authorities,  we  settled  to  leave  in  two 
distinct  bands,  at  some  days'  interval  between 
the  two. 

I  started  with  the  first  detachment,  which 
numbered  twenty-five  men.  Thanks  to  La- 
fitte's  friendly  relations  with  the  Indians  of  the 
coast,  we  were  able  to  procure  horses  and 
guides  to  take  us  to  Nacogdoches,  a  military 


ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  89 

post  not  far  from  our  old  settlement  of  Camp 
Asylum.  But  before  I  come  to  the  history 
of  my  journey,  I  must  tell  you  briefly  what 
became  of  our  comrades  who  had  started  by 
sea,  and  of  those  whom  we  left  on  the  island 
of  Galveston.  The  first,  after  a  rough  passage 
of  more  than  a  fortnight,  landed  at  New 
Orleans,  where  the  yellow  fever  was  then 
raging.  They  had  scarcely  left  the  ship  when 
nearly  all  fell  victims  to  this  terrible  disease. 

The  rest  arrived  in  the  same  city  a  month 
afterward.  Some  of  them  were  cut  down  by 
the  "  black  vomit ;"  others  found  opportunities 
of  procuring  a  passage  back  to  France,  and  a 
very  few  started  together  for  the  Tombigbee, 
where  it  was  expected  that  a  new  attempt 
would  be  made  to  found  a  colony. 

The  ill-success  of  the  Texan  undertaking 
made  General  Lallemand  shy  of  joining  a  new 
one,  and,  accordingly,  General  Lefebvre- 
Desnouettes  took  charge  of  the  newly- 
organized  expedition.  The  settlement  was 
called  the  State,  or,  rather,  county  of  Maren- 
go. The  ground-plan  of  a  country  town  was 
laid  out,  and  the  place  called  Eaglesville, 
its    principal    streets    being   called    after   the 


90         ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

battles  which  refugees  had  helped  to  win.  The 
town  barely  had  any  existence,  save  on  paper. 
Most  of  the  Frenchmen  who  settled  in  Maren- 
go County  chose  rather  to  live  at  Alabama 
and  other  hamlets  of  the  neighborhood,  and  as 
soon  as  they  could  go  home,  they  hastened  to 
get  rid  of  their  land  at  the  lowest  prices,  to  pay 
their  passage  to  France.  The  few  who  remain- 
ed longest  went  home  after  the  revolution 
of  July,  1830.  It  is  long  since  the  memory  of 
Camp  Asylum  has  disappeared ;  the  present 
generation  scarcely  knows  its  name.  I  now 
return  to  my  own  rather  eventful  journey. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

JOURNEY      FROM      GALVESTON      TO      THE      HEAD- 
WATERS    OF      THE     SABINE MY      COSTUME 

OUR       LIFE       ON      THE       MARCH A      BUFFALO 

HUNT — THE    NEW    MAZEPPA. 

Our  journey  as  far  as  Nacogdoches  did  not 
present  a  single  interesting  incident.  We  had 
chosen  this  route  because  two  of  our  asso- 
ciates, formerly  of  San  Domingo,  had  travelled 
this  way  when  they  had  come  from  Louisiana 
to  join  us  at  Camp  Asylum.  Besides,  we 
needed  for  such  a  long  journey  many  things 
which  we  could  only  get  at  Nacogdoches,  and, 
lastly,  we  wished  to  cross  Texas  as  peaceable 
travellers,  and  were  anxious  to  procure  a  safe- 
conduct  from  the  Spanish  authorities,  that  we 
might  not  be  molested  until  we  reached  the 
frontier. 

The  Spanish  commandant  made  no  diffi- 
culty whatever,  but  granted  us  a  pass  on  condi- 
tion that  we  would  only  stop  two  days  at  Na- 
cogdoches.    This  short  time  scarcely  sufficed 


<j2  ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

for  our  shopping,  for  our  costumes  were  wo- 
fully  dilapidated,  and  we  also  needed  horses  or 
mules  to  carry  our  baggage.  Our  Louisianian 
friends  suggested  our  putting  on  the  cos- 
tume of  the  country,  as  our  French  uniforms, 
or  rather  the  remains  of  what  had  been 
uniforms,  might  draw  unpleasant  attention 
upon  us.  This  dress  was  also  much  more 
suitable  for  travelling,  and  so  we  took  this 
sensible  advice,  each  one  equipping  himself,  on 
his  own  account,  in  garments  similar  to  those 
worn  by  the  Mexican  hunters  and  voyagers. 
I  was  able  to  procure  a  full  and  new  Mexi- 
can suit,  as  I  still  had  the  greater  part  of  the 
two  hundred  dollars  sent  me  bv  Monsieur 
Tournel. 

I  remember  my  strange  costume  well.  It 
consisted  of  a  dressed  buckskin  hunting  shirt, 
which  was  of  a  pale  yellowish  color,  and 
whose  cut  resembled  the  tunic  of  the  ancients 
far  more  than  any  modern  article  of  dress. 
It  was  carefully  sewn  and  even  embroidered. 
There  was  a  kind  of  hood  attached  to  it,  which 
hood,  as  well  as  the  front  of  the  tunic,  was 
adorned  with  long  fringes,  while  a  pair  of 
scarlet  gaiters,  called  "  save-alls,"  protected  my 


ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  $$ 

legs  up  to  the  very  hips.  Over  these  I  wore 
strong  pantaloons  tucked  into  large  boots 
with  spurs.  A  colored  under-shirt,  a  blue  neck- 
tie, and  a  large  Guayaquil  hat  completed  my 
accoutrement.  At  the  back  of  my  saddle 
was  strapped  a  scarlet  cloak,  rolled  into  a 
cylinder,  and  intended  to  do  duty  as  2 
bed,  a  tent,  or  a  mantle,  as  necessity  might 
require.  There  was  a  small  round  hole  in 
the  centre,  through  which  I  could  pass  my 
head,  and  thus,  in  case  of  rain  or  cold,  be 
protected  from  head  to  foot. 

My  companions  were  dressed  pretty  nearly 
the  same  as  I  was ;  some  of  them  might  have 
had  a  different  colored  cloak,  or  a  little 
coarser  shirt,  or  their  habiliments  on  the  whole 
might  have  been  a  little  less  new ;  but,  allow- 
ing for  these  insignificant  differences,  we  were 
all  dressed  alike.  As  we  could  all,  or  nearly 
all,  talk  Spanish  fluently,  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  guess  that  we  were  in  reality 
French   soldiers. 

Our  weapons,  too,  were  nearly  all  alike.  I  was 
armed  to  the  teeth.  I  had  two  horse-pistols  at 
my  saddle-bow,  and  two  smaller  ones  at  my 
belt,  a  long  rifle  slung  over  my  shoulder,  and  t 


94         ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

large  knife  styled  in  Mexican  machete,  which 
I  used  indifferently  for  hunting,  cooking,  and 
eating  purposes.  My  outfit  consisted  in  a 
shot-bag,  a  powder-horn,  a  calabash,  and  a 
knapsack  where  were  stored  my  rations.  My 
comrades  were  nearly  all  equipped  in  the  same 
way. 

We  were,  however,  very  diversely  mounted. 
Some  had  saddle-mules,  and  some  horses  of 
Spanish  descent,  called  mustangs,  most  of  them 
worn  out  by  old  age  or  hard  labor,  and,  conse- 
quently, sold  very  cheap  to  our  travelling 
party.  Mine,  which  was  young  and  strong,  had 
cost  thirty  dollars,  and  was  of  the  wild  prairie 
race,  the  descendants  of  the  Spanish  horses  in- 
troduced into  Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest. The  Texan  from  whom  I  bought  him 
assured  me  that  he  was  very  gentle,  having 
been  caught  young,  and  well-trained,  and  that 
at  present  a  child  might  lead  him  by  a  silken 
string.  I  needed  these  qualities  in  a  horse,  for, 
having  always  served  in  the  infantry,  I  was  far 
from  being  a  good  rider.  True,  I  might  have 
become  one,  for  I  had  the  first  and  most  neces- 
sary quality  of  a  good  horseman — coolness ; 
but  this  was  not  all,  and  I  had  reason  to  regret 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.         95 

later  on  that  I  had  not  added  to  this  quality  a 
knowledge  of  the  rudiments  of  horsemanship. 

We  had  five  sumpter-mules  to  carry  our 
baggage,  besides  the  old  horse  that  I  had  rid- 
den as  far  as  Nacogdoches,  and  which  was  only 
fit  for  a  beast  of  burden.  These  six  animals 
formed  our  baggage  caravan,  which  was  un- 
der the  care  of  muleteers,  Texan  half-breeds 
whom  we  had  hired  at  Nacogdoches  for  this 
purpose,  as  well  as  to  act  as  guides  to  our 
party.  We  started  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
day  fixed  upon  by  the  Spanish  commandant. 

There  were  but  thirty-five  or  forty  leagues, 
as  the  crow  flies,  between  us  and  the  first 
Louisianian  settlements,  but  we  could  not  go  in 
a  straight  line,  as  we  should  have  had  to  cross 
several  deep  rivers  with  very  steep  banks.  We 
were  obliged  to  steer  north,  as  if  we  had  been 
en  route  for  Arkansas,  intending  there  to  cross 
the  Sabine  not  far  from  its  head-waters  and 
where  it  was  still  fordable,  and  to  strike  about 
and  reach  Louisiana  from  the  south-east. 

This  route  would  lengthen  our  journey  by 
some  four  or  five  days'  march  ;  but  this  was  in- 
different to  us,  as  the  country  we  had  to  cross, 
though    a   wilderness,  was  very   beautify,  am* 


96  ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

abounded  in  game,  while  at  the  same  time  we 
knew  that  it  would  afford  plenty  of  fodder  for 
our  cattle.  The  weather  was  the  very  best  that 
could  have  been  wished  for,  for  a  journey  un- 
der this  clime.  It  was  now  January,  and  the 
sun  being  less  ardent  than  in  summer,  made  it 
quite  possible  for  us  to  march  all  day  in  com- 
parative comfort.  The  nights  were  cold,  but  we 
scarcely  perceived  it,  wrapped  up  as  we  were 
in  our  huge  cloaks  and  stretched  near  the  ge- 
nial camp-fire.  Sometimes  toward  sunrise  the 
north  or  north-west  wind  would  strew  a  slight 
frost  on  the  ground,  but  the  sun's  first  rays 
would  speedily  melt  it  under  our  eyes. 

This  journey  across  the  Texan  prairies  was  a 
real  pleasure  trip  for  us,  who  had  so  long  un- 
dergone such  cruel  privations  on  the  island  of 
Galveston.  We  were  in  no  hurry  to  reach  our 
destination,  and  our  days'  marches  were  but 
short.  We  often  spent  our  mornings  in  hunting, 
till  at  our  noonday  halt  we  would  light  a  fire  and 
cook  a  few  venison  steaks,  reserving  the  rest  of 
the  game  for  the  evening.  Sometimes  our 
meals  were  as  luxurious  as  Belshazzar's  feasts, 
and  we  banqueted  on  antelope  or  kid  steak, 
roast  partridge,  quail,  and  wild  duck,  which  we 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.  97 

washed  down  with  the  purest  of  water  and 
sometimes  a  little  rum.  True,  we  had  neither 
bread,  plates,  nor  spoons,  but  then  we  had  tor- 
tillas, which  may  be  called  the  bread  of  the 
Mexicans.  Though  kneaded  of  corn  meal,  they 
differ  from  the  cakes  made  in  the  south  of 
Europe  and  in  the  United  States  of  the  same 
material.  The  corn  is  not  ground  into  flour, 
but  simply  bruised  and  boiled  in  a  large  earthen 
jar.  It  is  then  placed  on  a  large  flat  stone  and 
bruised  with  a  roller,  after  which  it  becomes  as 
white  as  snow.  The  dough  is  then  kneaded  by 
hand  in  the  usual  way,  and  made  into  cakes 
the  size  of  a  small  plate,  which  are  friea 
on  a  hot  stone,  or,  better  still,  an  iron  sheet. 
This  is  the  universal  food  of  the  poorer  classes 
in  Mexico.  Tortillas  are  often  used  as  bread, 
plate,  and  spoons.  The  meat  is  placed  upon 
the  tortilla  in  front  of  you,  and  you  eat  it  with 
other  smaller  tortillas  kneaded  in  the  shape  of 
spoons.  Our  dessert  consisted  of  grapes,  nuts, 
and  apples.  These  meals  seemed  truly  delicious 
to  us,  seasoned  as  they  were  with  the  sauce  of 
a  healthy  appetite. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  grew  more  wood- 
ed as  we  advanced,  and  we  sometimes  went 


98  ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

through  large  woods  of  cottonwood  trees,  the 
commonest  tree  to  be  found  on  the  prairies. 
This  must  not  be  mistaken  for  the  cotton  plant, 
which  is  but  a  small  shrub ;  these  cottonwood 
trees  are  so  called  because  they  bear  a  substance 
that  closely  resembles  cotton,  but  is  totally  dif- 
ferent in  its  nature.  We  avoided  the  virgin 
forests  which  we  perceived  in  the  distance,  be- 
cause they  were  too  dense  to  offer  an  easy  route, 
and  we  might  have  been  lost  in  their  depths ; 
besides  which,  they  were  full  of  wild  animals, 
and  were  the  strongholds  of  the  Indios  bravos, 
who  were  yet  more  formidable.  These  were 
the  Indians  who  had  maintained  their  indepen- 
dence, and  whom  the  Mexicans  called  by  this 
name  to  distinguish  them  from  those  who  sub- 
mitted to  European  rule,  the  Indios  manjos,  or 
civilized  Indians.  One  would  have  thought 
from  this  nomenclature  that  they  were  two 
different  species  of  the  same  race  of  animals. 

On  the  eighth  day  after  our  departure  we 
had  reached  the  basin  of  the  upper  Sa- 
bine, and  sent  our  guides  forward  to  search 
for  the  ford.  We  halted  in  the  meanwhile 
on  the  borders  of  a  swamp  evidently  well- 
stocked   with   game.       Swamps  are    tracts  of 


1DVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH    CAPTAIN.  99 

land  by  the  river-side,  densely  covered 
with  evergreen  trees  and  shrubs.  The  red 
laurel,  the  dark-leaved  myrtle,  the  cistus,  the 
honeysuckle,  different  kinds  of  aloe,  the  crim- 
son-leaved sage,  the  dahlia,  the  gigantic  heli- 
anthus,  the  delicate  mentzelia,  and  the  lovely 
magnolia — all  mingle  their  colors  and  their  per- 
fumes in  tangled  luxuriance.  Some  of  our 
party  followed  the  guides  to  the  river,  others 
stayed  in  camp  to  look  after  their  horses'  har- 
ness or  mend  their  own  clothes.  I  thought  I 
would  take  a  turn  on  horseback  round  the 
swamp  to  see  if  I  could  find  on  its  borders 
some  game  not  beyond  the  power  of  my  rifle 
to  bring  down. 

I  had  been  out  about  half  an  hour  when  I  saw 
an  enormous  animal  making  its  way  out  of  a 
clump  of  willows  fifteen  hundred  yards  from 
where  I  stood.  Presently  another  followed, 
and  then  another,  until  there  were  ten  of 
them  before  me.  I  knew  them  to  be  buf- 
faloes, and  I  supposed  that  they  had  come  to 
drink  at  some  spring  that  must  be  near  the  wil- 
low clumps. 

Hitherto  we  had  shot  nothing  larger  than 
deer  or  antelopes,  and,  indeed,  I  am  wrong  in 


100       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

saying  we,  for  it  was  always  my  companions 
who  had  this  luck,  while  I  had  never  brought 
down  any  thing  more  important  than  a  turkey 
or  a  duck.  How  proud  I  should  be  if  I  could 
contribute  such  noble  game  as  buffalo  to  our 
mess  !  I  drew  near  with  great  caution,  lay- 
ing myself  almost  on  a  level  with  my  horse's 
neck  ;  the  tall  grass  and  underbrush  concealed 
my  movements,  and  the  wind  being  in  my  face, 
I  was  easily  enabled  to  get  within  range, 
for  buffaloes  are  very  quick-scented,  and  snuff 
danger  from  a  long  distance. 

Thus  I  reached  a  little  group  of  cottonwood 
trees,  where  I  placed  myself  in  ambush.  I  could 
see  the  herd  browsing  a  little  way  beyond,  un- 
conscious of  the  danger  that  threatened  them.  I 
could  get  no  nearer  without  venturing  into  the 
open  and  alarming  them,  when  they  would  of 
course  have  taken  to  their  heels  and  gained  the 
cover  of  the  wood  before  I  could  hope  to  come 
up  with  them.  I  determined  to  wait,  thinking 
that  chance  might  befriend  me,  and  I  stood  for 
nearly  an  hour  in  expectation  of  their  coming 
my  way.  At  last,  one  of  the  finest  of  the  herd 
came  toward  me,  browsing  as  he  went.  I 
raised  my  rifle  and  fired.     The  report  scattered 


ADVENTURES  OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        IOI 

the  whole  herd,  and  even  the  bull  I  had  aimed 
at  scampered  off  in  the  direction  of  the  forest. 
•  I  feared  that  I  had  missed  him  after  all,  and 
cursing  my  awkwardness,  I  reloaded  my  weapon, 
vowing  to  myself  not  to  say  any  thing  of  my 
adventure  at  the  camp.  I  was  on  the  point  of 
turning  back  to  regain  the  camp,  when,  casting 
a  parting  glance  at  the  herd,  now  in  full  retreat, 
I  noticed  that  the  bull  I  had  aimed  at  followed 
the  others  at  some  distance  and  gave  unmistak- 
able signs  of  distress. 

"  He  is  wounded,"  thought  I,  and  off  I  was 
at  once  after  him.  Finding  himself  pursued,  he 
gathered  up  his  strength  and  fled  nearly  as 
swiftly  as  the  rest.  "  Never  mind,"  thought  I, 
"  you  will  soon  have  to  slacken  your  pace,  and 
I  shall  come  up  with  you  in  the  long-run."  In 
another  quarter  of  an  hour  the  animal  stumbled 
and  bellowed  as  if  in  great  pain.  I  made  sure 
of  victory  now,  and  checked  my  horse  to  breathe 
him.  The  trail  was  easy  to  follow,  as  it  was 
marked  with  blood.  I  had  almost  reached  the 
dying  bull,  who  was  struggling  in  his  last  agony, 
and  was  considering  how  best  to  bring  in  my 
game  to  our  camp,  when  I  heard  a  neigh  on  my 
left     My  horse  pricked  up  his  ears  and  an- 


102        ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

svvered  it  at  once  ;  then,  before  I  had  time  to  look 
about  me,  he  started  off  at  full  gallop  in  the  di- 
rection whence  came  the  call. 

In  vain  I  tried  to  control  him.  The  animal 
which  I  had  been  assured  a  child  might  lead 
by  a  silken  string  resisted  all  my  efforts  to  stop 
his  course.  I  soon  saw  the  cause  of  his  excite- 
ment. A  herd  of  wild  horses  were  feeding  a 
little  way  off  in  the  prairies,  and  at  the  approach 
of  one  of  their  former  associates,  had  set  up  a 
neigh  of  recognition.  Had  he  been  alone  and 
unsaddled,  they  would  have  received  him  at 
once  as  one  of  themselves,  but  seeing  him  rid- 
den by  one  of  those  hunters  (my  dress  of  course 
heightened  the  deception)  by  whom  they  used 
to  be  pursued  and  lassoed,  they  took  flight  and 
made  off  at  a  gallop.  My  horse  followed  them 
at  an  equally  break-neck  pace,  and  no  en- 
deavors of  mine  could  either  stop  or  direct  his 
mad  course.  With  his  neck  outstretched,  his 
mouth  foaming,  his  nostrils  inflamed,  he  flew 
rather  than  ran  after  the  other  horses,  whose 
gallop  sounded  to  me  like  the  thunder  of  a 
cavalry  charge. 

Since  I  was  unable  to  control  him,  I  gave 
up  my  efforts  to  do  so  and  let  him  run  on,  hop- 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        IO3 

ing  that  he  would  exhaust  himself,  or,  at  least, 
slacken  his  speed  through  fatigue,  when  I  should 
endeavor  to  regain  my  mastery  of  him.  This, 
however,  seemed  less  and  less  likely,  and  for  a 
length  of  time  which  I  could  not  define,  but 
which  seemed  an  eternity  to  me,  I  saw  myself 
doomed,  like  Mazeppa,  to  be  dragged  along  by 
a  wild  horse  into  unknown  and  savage  regions. 
We  had  now  entered  one  of  those  vast  forests 
that  covered  the  greater  part  of  Texas  at  that 
time.  The  road  chosen  by  the  wild  horses  was 
more  open  than  most  forest  paths,  and  my  horse 
followed  it  without  much  trouble,  but  I  was 
forced  to  lie  as  flat  to  his  neck  as  I  could  to 
get  out  of  the  way  of  the  hanging  branches 
that  interlaced  above  our  heads. 

To  make  things  worse,  night  was  coming  on, 
and  in  these  countries  darkness  falls  almost  as 
soon  as  the  sun  sinks  behind  the  horizon.  How 
should  I  get  back  to  camp,  when  my  horse 
should  drop  from  sheer  fatigue,  as  he  must  do 
sooner  or  later  ?  I  was  probably  at  an  im- 
mense distance  from  the  bivouac  at  least,  judg- 
ing from  the  extent  of  ground  which  my  run- 
away beast  must  have  covered  in  his  mad  gal- 
lop of  at  least  an  h©ur's  duration.     How  should 


104       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

I  find  the  way  back  at  night  and  on  foot,  for 
I  knew  that  my  horse  would  be  of  no  use,  as 
his  flanks  rose  and  fell  with  ominous  quickness, 
and  the  breath  was  almost  out  of  his  body  ? 
He  might  very  likely  fall  dead  from  fatigue  at 
any  moment.  I  had  hardly  finished  this  train 
of  thought  when  my  horse  suddenly  fell  under 
me,  and  I  was  thrown  violently  from  my  saddle, 
totally  unconscious. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  SAD  AWAKENING — I  FALL  INTO  THE  HANDS  OF 
THE  INDIANS MY  JOURNEY  TO  THE  COMAN- 
CHE VILLAGE 1  AM  PRESENTED  TO  THE  GREAT 

CHIEF A  NEW  ACTOR  ON  THE  SCENE EF- 
FECT PRODUCED  BY  MY  DECORATION  AND  MY 
STANDING  AS  A  FRENCH  OFFICER 1  AM  CON- 
STITUTED THE  GUEST  OF  THE  TRIBE. 

How  long  my  swoon  lasted  I  cannot  tell. 
It  was  pitch  dark  when  I  came  to  myself.  I 
tried  to  get  up,  but  a  sharp  pain  in  my  right 
foot  compelled  me  to  lie  down  again.  I  then 
found  that  my  foot  was  still  entangled  in  the 
stirrup,  and  that  my  horse  was  stretched  lifeless 
by  my  side.  I  did  not  pause  to  wonder  how 
my  foot  had  remained  entangled  in  the  stirrup, 
while  I  had  certainly  felt  as  though  pitched  far 
over  the  horse's  head.  Indeed,  the  pain  I  felt, 
the  fever  that  consumed  me,  and  the  burning 
thirst  that  tormented  me,  did  not  allow  me  to 
collect  my  thoughts  just  then.  Mechanically 
I   reached  out  my  hand  toward  a  gourd  full  of 


Io6       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

rum  that  hung  at  my  girdle.  I  drank  a  few 
mouthfuls  and  felt  temporarily  relieved,  but 
giddiness  soon  seized  me,  and  I  sank  into  a 
lethargic  slumber  which  again  drowned  in  me 
the  consciousness  of  my  suffering  and  my  danger. 

It  was  broad  daylight  when  I  awoke;  but  what 
was  my  surprise  when  I  opened  my  eyes  and 
saw  myself  surrounded  by  half  a  dozen  tall, 
copper-colored  men  with  long,  jet-black, 
straight  hair,  and  wearing  by  way  of  cloaks 
either  buffalo  hides  or  crimson  blankets  !  I 
knew  them  to  be  Comanche  Indians,  deemed 
the  most  bloodthirsty  of  all  by  the  Spanish 
colonists  of  Texas.  We  shall  see,  later  on,  how 
this  character  was  borne  out. 

As  soon  as  I  came  to  myself,  I  again  experi- 
enced great  pain,  not  only  in  my  foot,  but  in 
every  part  of  my  body.  I  tried  to  rise,  but 
found  my  arms  firmly  pinioned,  so  that  I  could 
barely  turn  my  body  round  a  little.  The  In- 
dians, seeing  my  efforts  and  enjoying  my  help- 
lessness, laughed  long  and  derisively.  I  was 
half  dead  with  fright,  and  fully  believed  that  my 
last  hour  was  at  hand.  I  was  going  to  be  butch- 
ered, and  perhaps  eaten,  for  these  savages  were 
popularly  believed  to  be  cannibals. 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        I07 

This  fear  unmanned  me  worse  than  the  an- 
ticipation of  even  a  violent  death.  Had  I  not 
courted  death  in  the  midst  of  all  kind  of  dan- 
gers? But  to  be  tortured — for  I  knew  the 
customs  of  the  Indians — and  then  to  know 
that  my  limbs  would  be  cut  up,  roasted,  and 
eaten — that  was  too  terrible  to  think  of.  If 
only  I  could  die  defending  myself!  But  I  had 
been  stripped  of  my  weapons  ;  besides,  I  should 
not  have  had  the  strength  to  use  them,  and  I 
was  bound  hand  and  foot,  like  a  sheep  under 
the  butcher's  knife. 

While  these  thoughts  crowded  on  my  mind, 
the  Indians  took  no  notice  of  me,  but  talked 
noisily  among  themselves,  and  passed  my  mm 
gourd  from  hand  to  hand.  It  was  soon  emp- 
tied. This  done,  the  head  of  the  gang  came 
up  to  me  and  said,  in  tolerable  Spanish  : 

"  What  did  the  Spanish  pale-face  mean  to  ,o 
in  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  red  man  ?  ^  ras 
it  that  he  might  reckon  the  number  of  our 
warriors,  and  learn  the  way  to  our  wig\\  tms, 
and  then  carry  the  news  to  the  pale-faces  r" 

I  saw  that  the  Indians  mistook  me  for  a 
Spanish  spy,  and  I  began  to  hope  once  more. 
I  answered  that  I  was  not  a  Spaniard,  but  $ 


108       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

Frenchman,  and  told  them  by  what  chain  of 
circumstances  I  had  been  carried  beyond  the 
reach  of  my  companions  into  the  heart  of  the 
Indian  country,  without  even  suspecting  where 
I  was. 

I  do  not  know  if  my  Indian  friend  under- 
stood Spanish  well  enough  to  take  in  all  I 
said,  but  one  thing  seemed  to  strike  him  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others,  namely,  that  I  was  one 
of  Napoleon's  warriors  lately  settled  in  Texas. 
He  asked  me  repeatedly  if  this  was  true,  and 
how  I  came  to  be  dressed  like  a  Spaniard  or  a 
Mexican.  After  a  renewed  assurance  that  such 
was  the  fact,  and  a  new  explanation  on  the 
subject  of  my  dress,  he  said  to  me,  in  less  angry 
tones  than  he  had  used  before : 

"  If  my  brother  has  spoken  truth,  no  harm 
will  happen  to  him.  The  Comanches  are  not 
the  foes  of  Napoleon,  or  of  his  warriors,  or  of 
the  French.  But  my  brother  must  come  with 
us  to  our  great  chief,  who  alone  can  know  the 
truth  and  administer  justice." 

I  willingly  agreed  to  this,  but  told  them  that 
I  could  not  go  on  foot,  as  my  right  foot  hurt 
me  too  much.  The  Indian  immediately  un- 
tied my  bonds,  and  I  was  able  to  sit  up  and 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        IO9 

loosen  the  gaiter  on  my  right  leg.  I  found,  to 
my  great  delight,  that  there  were  no  bones 
broken,  as  I  had  feared  there  were,  but  that 
my  ankle  was  badly  sprained,  totally  unfitting 
me  for  walking. 

The  chief,  meanwhile,  made  signs  to  one  of 
his  companions  to  examine  my  injuries.  This 
man  was  smaller  than  the  rest,  and,  to  judge  by 
his  dress,  belonged  to  a  different  tribe.  I  after- 
ward found  out  that  he  was  a  Tankard,  or 
Tankoway,  of  a  tribe  celebrated  for  its  marvel- 
lous healing  powers  and  superior  medical 
knowledge.  My  copper-colored  physician  hav- 
ing felt  my  foot  and  ascertained  that,  besides 
the  sprain,  I  had  nothing  worse  to  complain  of 
than  a  few  bruises  about  the  body,  bade  the 
chief  tell  me  that  I  should  soon  be  well  again. 
He  then  left  me,  but  returned  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  with  a  handful  of  roots  and  herbs, 
which  he  sedulously  chewed,  and  then  applied 
as  a  plaster  to  every  spot  that  gave  me  pain. 
This  ceremony  he  supplemented  by  reciting 
charms  intended  to  help  and  strengthen  the 
healing  virtue  of  the  herbs. 

He  gave  me  a  decoction  of  the  herbs  to 
drink,  and  told  the  chief  to  tell  me  that  I  must 


I  IO       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

rest  and  sleep  till  we  should  be  ready  to  leave. 
Though  I  had  not  much  faith  in  my  savage 
Esculapius,  I  still  followed  his  prescription,  and 
whether  it  was  the  effect  of  the  draught  he  had 
administered  or  the  natural  consequence  of 
the  unusual  excitement  and  fatigue  I  had  gone 
through,  certain  h  is  that  I  fell  into  a  deep  and 
refreshing  slumbei 

I  was  awakened  about  noon ;  and,  indeed, 
had  the  order  to  start  not  been  signified  to  me, 
I  might  have  slept  quietly  on  for  hours.  I  was 
astonished,  on  awaking,  to  find  myself  almost 
free  from  pain,  but  my  foot  was  still  so  be- 
numbed that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  walk. 
This  had  evidently  been  foreseen  and  provided 
for,  for  another  horse  had  been  brought  and 
decked  out  in  the  saddle,  bridle,  etc.,  of  the 
unlucky  animal  who  had  brought  me  to  this 
pass,  and  now  lay  stone  dead  a  few  feet  from 
my  side. 

The  chief  was  kind  enough  to  offer  me,  be- 
fore we  started,  a  few  slices  of  grilled  buffalo  meat, 
which  I  was  glad  enough  to  devour,  as  I  had 
not  eaten  any  thing  for  more  than  twenty-four 
hours,  and  the  fever  was  making  me  ravenously 
hungry.    When  I  had  done,  I  was  hoisted  upon 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        Ill 

my  new  horse,  and  we  started  on  our  journey, 
keeping  Indian  file  all  the  way.  My  horse 
went  a  foot's  pace,  and  two  Indians,  one  in  front 
and  one  behind  me,  walked  as  slowly  as  he  did, 
while  the  rest  of  the  troop  went  a  little  quicker 
at  some  distance  ahead  of  us.  My  escort,  con- 
sisting of  my  Tankoway  doctor  and  an  old,  surly- 
looking  Comanche,  seemed  to  watch  my  every 
movement  narrowly,  as  if  fearing  that  I  should 
try  to  make  my  escape  or  even  attack  them. 
Alas !  both  things  were  utterly  out  of  my  power, 
for  I  had  trouble  enough  to  balance  myself  on 
my  horse,  and,  besides,  the  Comanches  had 
taken  good  care  to  strip  me  of  every  weapon, 
even  of  a  little  pocket-knife,  which  contained 
besides  the  main  blade  two  pen-knife  blades 
and  a  cork-screw. 

We  marched  on  till  nightfall,  when  we 
reached  the  camp  prepared  by  the  four  Indians 
who  had  pushed  on  before.  The  fire  was 
lighted,  and  the  meat  for  the  evening  meal 
roasting.  My  surgeon  again  examined  my 
injured  foot,  which  was  very  much  swollen  ;  he 
then  put  on  more  poultices,  gave  me  some 
meat,  and  finally  ordered  complete  rest  during 
the  night. 


112        ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

I  "was  still  better  the  next  day.  We  broke 
up  camp  early,  and  travelled  all  day  long.  I 
noticed  that  our  route  lay  to  the  north-west, 
which  was  exactly  the  opposite  direction  from 
that  which  my  comrades  were  to  take  after 
crossing  the  Sabine  River.  After  three  days' 
march,  we  reached  a  little  valley  through  which 
flowed  a  pretty  stream,  and  where  were  scat- 
tered many  huts  and  wigwams  of  different 
shapes.  It  was  the  principal  Comanche  village. 
As  the  evening  was  far  spent  when  we  arrived, 
my  presentation  to  the  great  chief  was  put  off 
till  the  morrow,  when  he  would  settle  what  was 
to  be  my  fate.  My  sprain  was  far  less  painful 
than  such  a  long  and  fatiguing  journey  would 
have  naturally  rendered  it.  My  Tankard  doc- 
tor's remedies,  which  I  diligently  applied  twice 
a  day,  seemed  gifted  with  remarkable  efficacy. 
I  only  needed  a  few  days'  rest  to  be  quite 
myself  again. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  chief  of  the 
little  troop  by  whom  I  had  been  taken  prisoner 
came  with  the  doctor  to  take  me  to  the  great 
chief.  The  distance  was  but  short,  yet  I  should 
not  have  been  able  to  get  over  it  without  help. 
My  companions  gave  me  their  arms,  and,  with 


ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        113 

this  support,  I  limped  along  as  best  I  could, 
till  we  got  to  where  the  chief  was.  He  was 
seated  in  the  public  square  of  the  village,  his 
usual  audience-chamber.  He  was  squatting  at 
the  foot  of  a  tree,  smoking  an  immense  pipe 
or  calumet  of  red  clay,  and  talking  to  ten  other 
Indians,  all  squatted  near  him  in  a  large  half- 
circle.  He  seemed  totally  to  disregard  our 
arrival,  and,  puffing  clouds  of  smoke,  went  on 
addressing  his  peers  in  short,  grave  sentences, 
while  my  companions  made  me  sit  down 
between  them,  so  as  nearly  to  fill  up  the  vacant 
spaces  between  the  horns  of  the  half-circle. 
We  thus  formed  almost  a  complete  ring.  I 
was  right  in  front  of  the  chief.  I  could  scarcely 
have  guessed  his  age,  for  his  face  was  tattooed 
all  over  ;  neither  did  his  position  allow  me  to 
judge  of  his  height,  although  the  length  of  his 
legs  and  the  noble  proportions  of  his  body 
seemed  to  indicate  an  unusual  stature.  He 
was  dressed  much  the  same  as  the  other  chiefs, 
but  his  red  blanket  was  thrown  over  his 
shoulders  in  a  certain  careless  way  that  was  not 
devoid  of  picturesqueness,  and  his  long,  black 
hair,  reaching  down  to  his  waist,  was  plaited  in 
several  queues,  two  of  which,  brought  forward 


[14       ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

over  each  shoulder,  fell  in  front  of  his  chest 
and  were  adorned  with  several  little  silver 
plates,  placed  at  equal  distances. 

I  had  ample  time  to  make  these  observa- 
tions, for  a  full  quarter  of  an  hour  went  by 
before  any  one  took  the  slightest  notice  of  me. 
The  chief,  shortly  after  our  arrival,  handed  the 
calumet  to  his  right-hand  neighbor,  who,  having 
taken  a  few  puffs  in  silence,  passed  it  on  to  the 
next,  and  so  on  until  it  had  reached  my  left- 
hand  neighbor,  the  chief  who  had  captured  me. 
Having  smoked  silently  for  a  few  seconds,  he 
did  not  pass  the  pipe  to  me,  but  began  a  long 
harangue  of  which  I  did  not  understand  one 
word,  and  which  was  probably  an  account  of 
how  he  had  found  and  captured  me.  When  he 
ceased  speaking,  the  great  chief,  who  had  list- 
ened attentively,  said  a  few  words  to  one  of  his 
assistants.  The  man  arose  at  once  and  went 
toward  one  of  the  huts  of  the  village,  coming 
back  in  a  few  moments  and  bringing  with  him 
another  personage,  who  certainly  was  no  Co- 
manche, nor  an  Indian  of  any  sort.  He  was  a 
stumpy  little  man,  evidently  old,  not  to  say 
decrepit.  His  dress,  if  dress  it  could  be  called, 
was  as  coarse   as  it  was  simple,  consisting  of  a 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 1 5 

rag  which  might  once  have  been  a  hunting- 
shirt,  and  which  had  now  become  little  more 
than  an  old  leathern  sack  all  over  holes,  and 
to  which  a  pair  of  sleeves  had  been  coarsely 
stitched.  Its  prevailing  color  was  a  dirty 
brown,  but  with  patches  of  livelier  color  here 
and  there,  and  dark  grease-stains  scattered  over 
the  front.  There  was  no  trace  left  of  any  fringe 
or  other  ornament.  There  must  have  been  a 
hood  to  it  long  ago,  but  time  and  wear  had 
wholly  obliterated  any  trace  of  it.  The  gaiters 
and  moccasins  matched  the  tunic,  and  were 
probably  of  the  same  material  ;  they,  too,  were 
of  a  dirty  brown,  soiled,  greased,  and  patched. 
Not  meeting  as  they  should  have  done,  they 
left  the  knees  and  part  of  the  legs  uncovered, 
and  these,  too,  seemed  as  brown  as  the  leather 
itself.  This  singular  figure  wore  a  close-fitting 
cap,  probably  once  of  cat  or  fox-skin,  but  no 
fur  remained  upon  it  now,  and  it,  too,  was  only 
a  dirty,  greasy  bit  of  leather,  in  perfect  keeping 
with  the  rest  of  the  costume.  The  whole  dress 
seemed  never  to  have  been  taken  off  since  the 
first  day  it  was  put  on,  and  that  must  have 
been  many  a  long  year  ago  ! 

The  man's  face  was  that  of  a  man  of  sixty, 


1  1 6        ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

with  attenuated  features,  gray-blue  eyes  spark- 
ling with  intelligence,  and  gray  hair  cut  rather 
close.  His  skin,  tanned  by  sun  and  wind,  had 
evidently  been  white,  and  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  he  was  a  European,  but  his  face  seemed 
rather  French  than  Spanish  or  Anglo-Ameri- 
can. He  had  no  sooner  made  his  appearance 
in  the  circle  than  the  chief  spoke  a  few  words 
to  him  in  Comanche.  The  new-comer  answer- 
ed in  the  same  tongue,  and  turning  to  me, 
scanned  me  attentively  for  a  few  seconds,  then 
said,  in  very  correct  French  and  with  a  magis- 
terial tone  : 

"  Friend,  the  Comanche  warriors  have  cap- 
tured you  as  a  Spaniard  or  a  Mexican  ;  you 
pretend  to  be  a  Frenchman,  and  I  have  been 
deputed  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  your  asser- 
tion. What  proof  can  you  give  of  your 
nationality  ?" 

As  I  listened  to  these  words,  delivered  in  an 
emphatic  tone  of  voice,  I  was  both  glad  to 
have  found  some  one  with  whom  I  could  speak 
m  my  own  language,  and  amused  at  the  gro- 
tesque importance  assumed  by  my  curious  in- 
terrogator, and  which  reminded  me  of  some 
old  French  game-keeper  roughly  demanding  to 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTYIN.        '»'.;' 

see  the  license  of  some  stray  sportsman.  I 
hastened  to  set  aside  this  laughable  but  hardly 
seasonable  impression,  and  to  express  my  de 
light  at  meeting  a  countryman  of  my  owa 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  you  entrusted  with  thf- 
examination  of  my  claims,"  I  said.  "  True,  I  have 
neither  license  nor  passport  [I  was  thinking  of 
my  game-keeper  again  !]  to  convince  you  of  my 
identity,  but  you  speak  our  mother-tongue  too 
well  for  any  one  but  a  Frenchman,  and  I  hope 
that  the  same  token  will  be  enough  on  my  part 
to  convince  you  of  my  nationality."  The  poor 
man,  who,  as  he  told  us  later,  had  not  heard  a 
word  of  French  for  ten  years,  was  deeply  moved  ; 
his  face  shone  with  delight,  his  eyes  rested  on 
me  with  unmistakable  kindness  and  longing, 
no  doubt  the  result  of  the  compliment  I  had 
addressed  to  him,  and  he  answered,  in  a  very 
different  tone  from  the  haughty  speech  of  a 
moment  ago : 

"  O  Monsieur,  I  don't  doubt  your  word  for  an 
instant,  but  though  of  one  stock  we  are  not 
quite  countrymen,  for  you  are  a  real  French- 
man, while  I  am  only  a  French  Canadian. 
Though  I  do  not  speak  our  language  as  well 
as  you  kindly  intimated,  I  have  been  in  many 


Il8        ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

places  and  talked  with  men  of  many  nations, 
so  that  I  can  tell  at  once  if  a  man  is  speaking 
his  own  mother-tongue  or  a  foreign  language, 
even  though  he  might  speak  it  with  great 
fluency.  Tell  me  now  how  you  happened  to 
wander  into  the  hands  of  the  Comanches,  so 
that  I  can  tell  the  tatli,  as  they  call  their  great 
chief." 

I  told  him  briefly  the  principal  events 
of  my  history,  my  motives  for  leaving  home 
after  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  our  unlucky  Texan 
scheme  of  colonization,  the  opposition  of  the 
Spaniards  who  had  sent  an  army  to  expel  us, 
our  hasty  retreat  from  Camp  Asylum,  our 
journey  across  the  prairies,  and,  lastly,  the  in- 
cident which  had  separated  me  from  my  party 
and  nearly  cost  me  my  life  had  I  not  been 
found  and  brought  here  by  the  Comanche 
warriors.  As  I  spoke,  the  old  Canadian  trans* 
lated  my  story  to  the  Indians,  who  listened 
with  breathless  interest.  When  I  had  done, 
the  chief  inquired  if  the  Spanish  "army  that 
had  lately  entered  Texas  had  come  with  no 
other  object  but  the  expulsion  of  our  colony, 
and  had  not  some  ulterior  designs  on  the 
Indians  p 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        I  19 

The  appearance  of  such  a  large  body  of 
troops  had  alarmed  the  Indians  of  this  country, 
who,  conscious  of  having  committed  some 
depredations  on  the  Texan  and  Mexican  fron- 
tiers, had  feared  that  this  army  was  destined  to 
punish  them.  For  the  purpose  of  observing 
its  movements,  they  had  sent  out  numerous 
scouting  parties,  one  of  whom  had  captured 
me,  taking  me  for  a  Spanish  spy,  which  sup- 
position my  language  and  my  dress  made  natu- 
ral enough. 

I  told  the  chief  that,  as  far  as  I  knew,  the 
Spanish  troops  had  come  solely  to  drive  the 
French  out  of  Texas,  and  that  I  did  not  think 
any  other  operations  likely,  since  after  our  de- 
parture most  of  the  soldiers  had  been  sent 
back  to  the  Mexican  frontier,  or  quartered  at 
Nacogdoches,  Bejar,  or  Goliad,  where  they 
seemed  peaceably  settled.  I  added  that  doubt- 
less my  explanation  had  satisfactorily  proved 
that  I  was  a  Frenchman,  and  might  hope, 
therefore,  for  kind  treatment  on  the  part  of  the 
Comanches,  who  had  always  been  the  friends 
of  the  Frenchmen  of  Louisiana,  their  neigh- 
bors, and  who  not  long  ago  had  made  a  special 
treaty  of  alliance  with  our  chiefs  at  Camp  Asy- 


120       ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

lum.  This  last  communication,  however,  had 
no  effect  whatever,  for  they  were  not  of  the 
same  tribe  that  had  made  a  treaty  with  General 
Lallemand,  and  they  knew  nothing  at  all  of 
that  bond  of  friendship.  The  Comanches,  who 
came  to  our  camp,  as  I  learned  later  on,  were 
allies  of  the  Pawnees,  and  were  called  Coman- 
ches of  the  Plain,  while  my  present  friends 
were  Mountain  Comanches,  and  allies  of  the 
Apaches. 

The  old  Canadian  translated  my  appeal, 
and  added  some  warm  eulogies  of  his  own.  I 
heard  the  name  of  Napoleon  mentioned  several 
times  ;  it  was  the  only  word  of  his  address 
which  I  understood.  When  he  ceased  speak- 
ing, the  Indians  deliberated  gravely  among 
themselves.  The  Comanches  never  decide 
upon  any  thing  save  after  serious  thought ;  in- 
deed, they  are  even  more  remarkably  gifted 
than  the  neighboring  tribes,  with  good  sense 
and  mature  judgment,  but  they  are  also  very 
slow  in  coming  to  a  decision. 

While  they  were  debating,  the  old  Canadian 
sat  down  by  me,  and  told  me  that  they  were 
well  disposed  in  my  favor,  especially  on  hearing 
that  I  was  one  of  Napoleon's  soldiers,  but  that 


ADVENTURES   OK  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        121 

one  of  them,  who  sat  by  the  chief,  was  yet 
doubtful,  because,  said  he,  he  had  seen  some 
pale-face  officers,  and  they  always  wore,  either 
on  the  heart  or  shoulder,  some  token  of  their 
rank  and  position. 

"  Do  you  happen  to  have,"  said  my  friend, 
"  your  epaulets  or  belt,  or  any  thing  that  would 
strike  them  and  convince  them  of  the  truth? 
What  is  there  in  your  valise  ?" 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "those  things,  and  every 
thing  belonging  to  my  uniform,  were  left  be- 
hind among  my  baggage.  I  have  nothing  but 
my  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  from  which 
I  never  part,  and  which  was  given  me  by  the 
emperor  himself;  but  I  fear  to  show  it,  and 
perhaps  excite  these  men's  cupidity.  You  will 
easily  understand  that  I  value  that  cross  more 
than  my  very  life." 

"  I  see  ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  fear.  Put  it 
on  while  these  chiefs  are  debating ;  they  will 
be  a  good  quarter  of  an  hour  yet.  I  will 
answer  for  the  consequences." 

I  did  as  he  advised  me,  and  drew  from  my 
pocket  a  little  box  containing  the  cross,  and  a 
few  silver  coins  stamped  with  the  emperor's 
effigy 


122       ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

"  I  have  an  idea,"  said  the  Canadian,  as  he 
saw  the  coins.  "  Of  course  you  do  not  care  for 
the  money  as  you  do  for  the  cross ;  give  them 
to  the  tatliy  with  those  red  ribbons  of  which  I 
see  you  have  a  quantity.  He  will  think  they 
are  some  kind  of  decoration  like  the  cross,  for 
he  will  see  that  the  same  effigy  is  stamped  on 
both,  and  I  will  provide  rings  by  which  to 
hang  them  on.  I  assure  you  that  this  courtesy 
will  have  a  wonderful  effect,  and  that  you  will 
be  treated  henceforth  as  a  chief  of  the  tribe." 

I  agreed,  and  he  fastened  my  cross  on  my 
tunic  without  being  perceived  by  the  Indians, 
who  were  now  standing  in  a  narrow  circle,  so 
that  those  nearest  to  us  had  their  backs  turned 
toward  us.  Then,  taking  the  coins  in  his 
hand,  he  got  up,  and  loudly  said  that  he  had 
something  to  communicate  to  the  tatli  on  the 
part  of  the  prisoner. 

The  circle  opened  wide,  and  the  Canadian, 
going  forward  with  all  the  dignity  of  an  am- 
bassador, began  one  of  those  long  orations  so 
much  prized  by  Indians.  I  could  follow  his 
meaning  by  his  gestures,  and  it  was  something 
to  this  effect : 

"The  chief  seemed  to  doubt  that  the  stran- 


ADVKN  I  URl'.s    <>!•    A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        123 

ger  was  really  one  of  the  great  warrior-chiefs 
of  the  great  Napoleon,  because  he  did  not 
openly  wear  the  insignia  of  his  high  rank,  but 
even  the  sun  does  not  always  show  his  full 
splendor,  but  when  it  -pleases  him,  hides  himself 
behind  clouds  ;  so  this  French  warrior  did  not 
choose  to  show  to  all  eyes  the  shining  proofs 
of  his  title  and  his  bravery,  but  he  has  con- 
sented to  let  you  see  them  at  last,  and  if  you 
will  look  you  will  perceive  them  shining  on 
his  breast." 

He  pointed  to  me,  and  all  eyes  were  fixed 
on  my  cross.  He  then  resumed  his  oration, 
which  I  shall  not  reproduce  this  time,  though 
he  himself  translated  it  for  me,  and  ended  by 
offering  on  my  behalf  to  give  the  chief  a  great 
decoration,  with  the  name  and  effigy  of  Napo- 
leon, like  those  on  my  own  (it  was  a  five-franc 
piece),  and  several  others  (pieces  of  two  francs, 
one  franc,  and  half  a  franc),  to  be  distributed 
among  the  lesser  chiefs,  according  to  his  will 
and  pleasure. 

Notwithstanding  the  proverbial  impassibility 
of  Indians,  the  chief's  face  lighted  up  with 
pride  and  joy  at  this  proposition.  The  other 
warriors  were  equally  pleased,  and  the   debate 


124       ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN 

was  closed.  The  great  chief  sent  me  the  pipe 
of  peace  after  he  had  first  taken  a  few 
puffs,  and  desired  the  interpreter  to  tell  me  that 
I  was  henceforth  to  consider  myself  the  guest 
of  the  tribe.  A  wigwam  would  soon  be  got 
ready  for  me,  where  I  should  be  taken  care  of 
until  I  was  quite  well  again,  and  that  after  my 
recovery  I  should  stay  with  them  as  long  as  I 
pleased. 

I  was  then  taken  to  a  hut  carpeted  with 
palm-matting,  and  fitted  with  a  hammock,  in 
which  I  lay  down  at  once.  My  Tankoway 
doctor  bandaged  my  ankle  again,  and  left  me 
to  the  nursing  of  the  old  Canadian,  who  took 
up  his  position  by  my  side,  declaring  that  if  I 
had  no  objection  to  it  he  would  devote  himself 
wholly  to  my  service.  I  gladly  and  gratefully 
accepted  his  offer,  and  after  a  slight  meal,  fell 
asleep  in  a  natural  way,  which  had  not  hap- 
pened to  me  for  several  days.  J 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

MICHAEL    GOURNAY    THE    CANADIAN MANNERS 

AND      CUSTOMS     OF      SOME      OF     THE      INDIAN 
TRIBES. 

When  I  awoke,  I  found  the  Canadian  by  my 
side,  as  watchful  as  a  mother  over  her  child. 
I  looked  round  my  room — if  I  may  call  it  so — 
and  noticed  my  saddle  and  bridle  and  my 
weapons,  of  which  I  had  formerly  been 
stripped,  arranged  on  one  side  of  the  apart- 
ment, while  on  the  other  were  a  blanket,  a 
kind  of  pack,  or  bale,  bound  with  leather 
thongs,  and  an  old  gun.  I  saw  that  these  things 
belonged  to  the  Canadian,  and  I  had  hardly 
formed  this  conjecture  before  he  himself  coi 
tinned  it  by  saying: 

"  You  see,  Captain,"  for  so  he  had  called  me 
since  he  knew  of  my  having  borne  that  title 
white  in  the  army, "  I  took  the  liberty  of  bring- 
ing my  few  belongings  here,  hoping  it  would 


126       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

not  annoy  you,  since  you  are  so  kind  as  to  tt^e 
me  into  your  service." 

I  assured  him  I  was  not  at  all  annoyed,  and 
began  to  talk  with  him.  He  was  all  eagerness, 
for  he  did  not  often  get  the  chance  of  a  long 
talk.  I  was  curious  to  hear  his  story,  and  to 
know  something  of  the  habits  of  the  Co- 
manches,  as  well  as  of  our  whereabouts  and 
the  chance  I  had  of  reaching  Louisiana.  This 
was  what  I  cared  most  about,  and  it  was  the 
first  question  I  put  to  my  companion.  He 
could  only  give  me  vague  answers,  totally  un- 
satisfactory to  my  mind,  for  he  had  never  been 
further  in  this  direction  than  the  spot  where 
we  now  were,  and  had  always  entered  Texas 
from  the  north,  and  across  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, whenever  he  had  joined  this  tribe  of  the 
Comanches,  whose  ordinary  encampment  was 
on  the  plateau  beyond  the  Sierra  San  Saba, 
between  the  Rio  Colorado  and  the  Brazos 
River.  The  Canadian  thought  from  what  he 
had  heard  that  we  must  be  nearly  ten  or 
twelve  days'  march  from  the  Louisiana  fron- 
tiers, and  that  it  was  impossible  to  go  that  dis- 
tance without  guides,  as  the  route  lay  across 
immense   forests    and    wild    mountain   passes. 


ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        \2f 

I  thought  this  estimate  slightly  exaggerated, 
since  we  had  only  taken  three  days  and  a  half 
to  come  from  the  spot  where  the  Indians  had 
found  me  to  their  present  encampment,  but  of 
course  I  had  no  means  of  calculating  what  dis- 
tance my  horse  might  have  covered  in  his  mad 
flight.  At  any  rate,  I  could  not  yet  undertake 
so  long  and  dangerous  a  journey.  I  must  first 
get  well  and  strong-,  and  then  see  what  means 
I  could  employ  to  further  my  end.  My  nurse 
whiled  away  the  time  pleasantly  enough  by 
telling  me  long  stories  of  his  adventures  and 
the  ups  and  downs  of  his  checkered  life. 
There  was  enough  in  those  tales  to  furnish 
forth  a  volume,  but  I  have  no  time  to  enter 
upon  the  recital,  and  will  only  relate  how  the 
little  fellow  had  happened  to  be  thrown  among 
the  Comanches. 

He  had  been  born  in  Upper  Canada,  and  his 
name  was  Michael  Gournay.  His  father  was 
what  is  styled  in  Canada  a  voyageur — that  is,  a 
boatman  employed  on  the  lakes  and  rivers  of 
that  countiy  to  convey  travellers  or  mer- 
chandise by  water.  He  had  followed  his  fa- 
ther's calling  in  his  youth,  but  one  day,  coming 
down    the     Mississippi,    their    frail    bark    was 


128        ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

wrecked,  and  Michael  alone  reached  the  shore 
in  safety.  Among  the  remains  cast  up  by  the 
waters  was  a  box  containing  the  articles  most 
necessary  to  a  man  in  his  position,  namely, 
rifles,  knives,  hatchets,  powder,  and  shot. 
Thanks  to  these,  he  was  able  to  provide  for  his 
wants  by  shooting  the  abundant  prairie  game, 
a  kind  of  life  which  so  pleased  him  that  he 
gave  up  being  a  boatman  and  became  a  prairie 
hunter.  I  may  as  well  stop  to  tell  you  that  a 
prairie  means  a  vast  tract  of  treeless  land,  and 
is  always  used  in  contradistinction  to  forest. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  term  is  applied  to 
tracts  of  land  well  covered  with  timber.  Such, 
for  instance,  was  the  scenery  that  we  had  passed 
through  on  our  way  from  Nacogdoches,  and 
until  I  met  my  buffalo  herd.  But  if  the  name 
of  prairie  is  applied  to  such  land,  it  is  because, 
in  spite  of  the  woods  scattered  here  and  there, 
grass  plains  are  the  predominating  element, 
and  the  trees  only  appear  like  clusters  or  islets 
in  a  sea  of  green  pastures.  They  are  often 
called  islands  or  mounds.  The  territory  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains is  called  par  excellence  the  great  prairie  ; 
it  is  the  home  of  the  bison  and  the  mustang, 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        1 29 

and  the  chief  hunting-ground  of  the  remaining 
vestiges  of  the  great  Indian  tribes — the  Sioux, 
the  Crows,  Cheyennes,  Pawnees,  Arapahos, 
Blackfeet,  Apaches,  Wacos,  Comanches,  etc. 
Michael  Gournay  had  found  himself  thrown 
on  the  prairie  after  his  shipwreck,  and  for  ten 
years  had  never  left  it,  coming  constantly  in 
contact  with  one  or  other  of  these  Indian 
tribes,  and  generally  kindly  welcomed  by  all. 
His  uncertain  Sittings  once  brought  him  near 
the  frontiers  of  his  native  land  again,  and  he' 
took  service  under  a  kind  of  corporation  of 
trappers  employed  by  a  great  English  fur  com- 
pany. These  hunters  are  known  as  trappers 
because,  for  the  sake  of  the  fur,  they  catch 
their  game  alive  by  means  of  traps. 

He  grew  dissatisfied  with  the  company  he 
served,  and  his  old  instincts  made  any  restraint 
irksome  to  him.  He  longed  for  the  solitude 
of  the  plains,  as  do  all  those  who  have  ever 
tasted  this  wild  and  adventurous  life.  The 
prairie-fever  was  upon  him,  and  he  left  the  com- 
pany to  go  on  trapping  expeditions  on  his 
own  account.  It  was  at  this  period  of  his  life 
that  he  experienced  the  strangest  ups  and 
downs  of  fortune.     He  had  many  a  time  been 


I30       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

possessed  of  a  small  fortune  in  furs,  and  as 
many  times  had  he  been  robbed,  sometimes  by 
bona-fide  thieves,  sometimes  by  the  dishonesty 
of  those  to  whom  he  had  sold  the  furs.  They 
were  always  white  men,  so-called  children  of 
civilization.  True  he  did  not  always  find 
even  the  red  men  themselves  too  scrupulously 
honest,  and  once  he  had  been  in  the  hands 
of  a  cannibal  tribe,  from  whose  clutches  he 
was  just  saved  in  the  nick  of  time  by  the 
Comanches,  who  were  at  war  with  them. 
From  that  time  he  had  linked  his  fate  with 
that  of  his  deliverers,  who  exercised  toward 
him  such  hospitality  and  generosity  as  he  had 
seldom  found  among  Anglo-Americans  or 
Spanish  Mexicans. 

He  grew  tired  of  the  trapping  business, 
which  age  and  infirmity  now  made  difficult  to 
him,  and  became  a  coureur  des  bois.  This  is 
the  name  given  to  small  peddlers  who  cross  the 
prairie  with  an  assortment  of  knives,  pocket- 
mirrors,  glass  beads,  vermilion  dyes,  tobacco, 
and  other  little  trifles,  which  they  exchange 
with  the  Indians  for  furs  and  peculiar  Indian 
products.  It  is  generally  a  dangerous  trade, 
and  not  unfrequently  leads  to  the  murder  of 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        I3I 

the  peddler  for  the  sake  of  his  little  store  of 
valuables.  Gournay,  however,  had  plied  it  in 
safety  for  ten  years,  no  doubt  powerfully  pro- 
tected by  his  friendly  relations  with  the  Co- 
manches  and  Apaches,  and  other  influential 
tribes  scattered  on  the  frontiers  of  Texas, 
New  Mexico,  and  Sonora.  "  How  is  it,"  I 
asked,  "  that  you  met  with  nothing  but  kind- 
ness from  these  nations,  which  I  always  heard 
held  up  as  monsters  of  cruelty,  and  utterly  in- 
accessible to  any  generous  feeling  ?" 

"  You  heard  the  Spaniards  say  so,  doubt- 
less," said  Gournay,  "  or  perhaps  the  Anglo- 
Americans  ;  and,  indeed,  the  Comanches, 
Apaches,  Navajos,  and  Pawnees,  as  well  as  many 
other  nations  I  might  name,  hate  the  Span- 
iards with  a  relentless  hatred,  and  practise  the 
most  abominable  cruelties  upon  them.  Some- 
times they  fall  upon  the  atajos,  or  caravans, 
carry  off  the  mules  and  horses,  and  massacre 
the  arrieros  without  pity ;  or  they  burn  farms 
and  even  whole  villages  of  Spaniards,  capture 
the  women  and  children,  and  scalp  the  men, 
whose  scalps  become  trophies  of  greaf  price. 
But  these  cruelties  are  in  their  eyes  legiti- 
mate reprisals  for  the  cruelties  of  every  kind 


132        ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

which  the  Spaniards  have  inflicted  upon  them 
ever  since  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  Their 
forefathers  formerly  lived  in  the  beautiful 
valleys  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  and  the  other 
fruitful  spots  whence  the  Spanish  invaders 
drove  them  out.  And  now  that  the  power 
of  the  foreign  foe  is  dwindling  day  by  day,  the 
independent  Indians,  which  the  Spanish  Mexi- 
cans .  themselves  significantly  call  '  Indios 
bravos]  do  not  despair  of  finally  reconquering 
their  former  country  and  driving  out  the  in- 
truders altogether.  This  is  the  reason  of  that 
implacable  habit  of  theirs  toward  any  man 
with  Spanish  blood  in  his  veins — a  hatred  which 
would  have  been  visited  on  you  had  you  not 
made  yourself  known  to  them  as  a  Frenchman. 
It  is  noticeable  that  of  all  white  men,  or  pale- 
faces, as  the  Indians  call  them,  the  French  have 
always  been  the  favorites  of-  the  natives.  From 
the  great  lakes  of  Canada  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  they  have  met  with  nothing  but 
friendliness  from  the  Indian  races.  The  tribes 
of  my  native  country  still  speak  with  infin;te 
respect  of  the  black  robes  (so  they  called 
the  French  missionaries)  who  had  come  to 
teach  them  how  to  worship  the  Great  Spirit. 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   Fl;tfN<H    CAPTAIN.        1 33 

They  regret  their  departure,  and  I  am  sure 
that  if  French  missionaries  could  come  back  in 
our  days,  they  would  be  welcomed  with  joy, 
and  would  do  more  for  the  civilization  and 
conversion  of  these  red-skinned  races  than  any 
ministers  of  Protestant  sects,  who  have  always 
given  up  the  task  in  despair*  Then  these  men 
are  all  Anglo-Americans,  and  scarcely  less  ob- 
noxious to  the  Indians  than  the  Spaniards 
themselves.  They  fear  the  Americans  more, 
however,  as  being  of  a  more  hardy,  energetic, 
enterprising  race,  which  every  day  makes  good 
fresh  conquests,  and  presses  more  closely  on 
the  huts  of  the  aborigines." 

I  asked  him  to  tell  me  something  of  the 
Apaches,  whom  I  had  heard  spoken  of  as  one 
of  the  most  formidable  of  Indian  tribes. 

"  The  Apaches,"  said  Gournay,  "  are  of  a 
more  roving  nature  than  the  Comanches.  They 
live  in  no  particular  district,  but  are  strewn 
over  the  Spanish  frontiers  from  the  Black 
Mountains  to  the  confines  of  Chohahuila. 
Sworn   enemies  of   the   Spaniards,  they  hold 

*  This  wish  of  old  Gournay's  has  since  been  realized.  Catholic 
missionaries,  almost  all  French,  have  thoroughly  evangelized 
what  remains  of  these  tribes  in  North  America, 


134       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

many  districts  in  perpetual  terror.  The  Mexi- 
can Government  was  never  able  to  do  more 
than  conclude  a  short  truce  with  them  now  and 
then,  and  though  their  numbers  have  been 
sadly  lessened  by  war,  famine,  and  disease,  the 
Spaniards  are  still  obliged  to  keep  on  hand  a 
force  of  not  less  than  two  thousand  mounted 
dragoons  to  escort  the  caravans,  protect  the 
villages,  and  ward  off  even  renewed  attacks. 
At  first  the  Spaniards  tried  to  enslave  all  those 
whom  the  fortune  of  war  threw  into  their 
hands,  but  finding  that  they  always  escaped 
sooner  or  later,  and  fled  back  to  their  own 
fastnesses,  they  sent  their  prisoners  to  Cuba, 
where  the  sudden  change  of  climate  soon  killed 
them  all.  The  Apaches  no  sooner  heard  of 
this  new  plan  than  they  obstinately  refused  to 
give  or  accept  quarters.  Hence  their  name 
for  being  the  most  ferocious  of  all  red  men. 

"They  are  taller  and  better  built  than  the 
Comanches.  Their  features  are  more  intelli- 
gent ;  they  have  narrow  foreheads,  bright, 
black  eyes,  teeth  of  dazzling  whiteness,  thick, 
shining  black  hair,  an  olive-colored  skin,  and 
thin  beards.  No  Indian  nation  is  so  little 
subject  to  bodily  defects.    A  lame  or  hump- 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        135 

backed  man  would  be  a  curious  rarity  among 
them.  Their  senses  are  very  acute,  especially 
their  sight,  which  age  never  impairs  in  the 
slightest  degree.  They  are  not  subject  to  the 
common  European  ailments,  but  small-pox 
and  yellow  fever  sometimes  make  fearful  havoc 
among  them.  In  all  my  trading  relations  with 
them,  I  have  found  them  invariably  honest, 
not  to  say  engaging.  They  are  generous  and 
even  disinterested  when  at  peace,  and  with  any 
friends  or  allies ;  but  once  on  the  war-path,  they 
employ  against  their  foes  the  utmost  refine- 
ments of  cruelty.  I  will  say  nothing  of  their 
weapons  and  manner  of  fighting;  they  are 
similar  to  those  of  the  Comanches." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MY    STAY  WITH    THE    COMANCHES WAR    REJOIC- 
INGS  DEPARTURE      OF      THE      WARRIORS      ON 

THE     WAR-PATH 1     WISH     TO       LEAVE       THE 

VILLAGE THE     INDIANS   OPPOSE     MY    WISH 

ATTACK  ON  THE  VILLAGE  BY  A  BODY  OF 
SPANISH  SOLDIERS 1  GO  .^ACK  TO  LOUIS- 
IANA   WITH    GOURNAY. 

My  sprained  ankle  kept  me  a  prisoner  for 
three  weeks.  Besides  Gournay,  I  h.-\d  other  visit- 
ors— the  great  chief  and  the  principal  warriors, 
who  came  to  have  a  chat  with  me  now  and  then 
They  all  knew  a  little  Spanish,  and  we  could 
easily  converse  in  that  language,  or,  when  that 
failed,  we  had  recourse  to  Gournay,  who  inter 
preted  our  meanings  for  us.  The  conversa- 
tions, however,  were  not  very  lively ;  the  Co- 
manches  are  not  naturally  talkative.  Their 
expression,  on  the  contrary,  is  very  thoughtful. 
They  listen  well  to  what  is  said,  dwell  long 
upon  it  after  they  have  taken  in  its  meaning, 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRENCH  CAPTAIN.        1 37 

and  only  answer  with  the  greatest  deliberation. 
In  this  they  certainly  have  a  great  advantage 
over  us  Europeans,  and,  I  will  add  it  bravely, 
over  Frenchmen  in  particular.  They  are  also 
glad  to  learn,  and  show  a  great  desire  of  in- 
creasing their  knowledge  on  all  occasions. 

They  often  asked  me  questions  on  European 
nations,  which  I  was  at  a  loss  how  to  answer. 
They  were  fond  of  having  me  speak  of  Na- 
poleon, his  warlike  exploits,  and  especially 
his  wars  against  the  Spaniards.  This  was  by 
no  means  surprising;  for  let,  me  tell  you, 
there  is  not  a  corner  of  the  globe  where  that 
great  man  has  not  found  an  echo. 

I  was  slowly  recovering,  and  trying  my 
strength  every  day,  with  the  aid  of  a  stick  and  of 
my  good  Gournay ;  then,  later  on,  I  trusted  to 
my  own  legs,  and  found  that  I  could  use  them  as 
well  as  ever.  As  soon  as  I  felt  able  to  under- 
take another  journey,  I  began  to  think  of  get- 
ting back  to  the  United  States  and  reaching 
Baltimore,  or,  at  least,  sending  word  of  my 
whereabouts  ;  but  I  had  reckoned  without  my 
host,  for  the  Comanche  chief  had  determined 
to  keep  me  with  him  longer  than  I  had  any 
wish  to  remain.     As  soon  as   I  was  perfectly 


138       ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

well,  and  made  inquiries  about  returning  to 
Louisiana,  I  was  told  that  as  yet  I  could  have 
neither  guide  nor  escort  for  so  perilous  a  jour- 
ney, because  the  Spanish  troops  were  guarding 
the  passes  of  the  Sierra  San  Saba,  which  I 
should  have  to  cross,  but  that  as  a  strong  de- 
tachment of  Apache  warriors  was  daily  ex- 
pected, and  a  joint  expedition  being  planned,  I 
was  at  liberty  to  join  the  expedition,  and  to 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  thus  af- 
forded for  reaching  Louisiana  in  safety.  I  was 
obliged  to  be  content  with  this  answer  and 
wait  a  few  days.  It  was  three  months  before 
the  Apache  warriors  came,  numbering  about 
two  hundred  men.  They  were  a  remarkable 
body  of  men,  and  I  was  not  sorry,  though  I  had 
had  so  long  to  wait  for  their  arrival,  to  have 
the  chance  of  seeing  so  fine  a  specimen  of  the 
Indian  race  of  North  America. 

On  the  third  day  after  their  arrival,  a  war- 
feast  or  review  took  place,  at  which  the  Co- 
manche chief  begged  me  to  be  present,  as  he 
was  very  proud  to  be  able  to  show  off  his  war- 
riors' skill  and  his  allies'  prowess  before  an  old 
veteran  of  Napoleon's  wars.  I  accepted,  and 
went  with  Gournay  to  see  the  tournament.     I 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 39 

had,  of  course,  not  expected  to  see  any  thing 
that  could  compare  with  European  manoeuvres, 
but  I  was  struck  not  only  with  the  strangeness, 
but  with  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  evo- 
lutions going  on  before  me. 

Two  hundred  Comanche  warriors  had  joined 
their  Apache  allies.  Half  of  each  troop  fought 
on  horseback,  half  on  foot.  These  were  armed 
with  bows,  arrows,  and  the  dread  tomahawk. 
Many  also  carried  muskets  taken  in  battle  from 
the  Spaniards,  who  certainly  never  sold  them 
any  weapons.  Powder  they  buy  in  small  quan- 
tities from  the  coureurs  des  dot's,  and  the  traffic 
in  that  article  had  long  been  Gournay's  most 
lucrative  business.  Though  they  handle  a  mus- 
ket or  rifle  with  incredible  skill,  they  still  pre- 
fer the  bow  and  arrows,  because  their  aim  is 
just  as  infallible  with  this  weapon,  while  it  is 
also  much  more  expeditious  than  a  gun  that 
takes  as  much  time  to  reload  as  would  suffice 
for  shooting  off  half  a  dozen  arrows. 

Their  arrows  are  about  a  yard  long,  made  of 
a  long  reed,  in  which  is  thrust  a  rod  of  hard 
wood  tipped  with  iron,  bone,  or  a  sharp  stone 
named  obsidian.  At  three  hundred  yards'  dis- 
tance these  warriors  can  transfix  a  man,  so  un- 


140       ADVENTURES   Of  A   ERENCH   CAPTAIN. 

erring  is  the  Indian's  aim.  In  drawing  the 
arrow  from  the  wound,  the  wood  parts  from 
the  point,  which  remains  in  the  body,  and  as  it 
is  generally  poisoned,  the  wound  most  often 
proves  mortal. 

The  horsemen  had  no  muskets,  and  many 
were  even  destitute  of  bows.  Their  weapon 
was  a  long  lance,  or  javelin,  five  yards  long, 
which  the  Spaniards  have  long  ago  learned  to 
respect.  In  charging  the  enemy,  they  hold 
this  lance  in  both  hands  over  their  heads,  di- 
recting their  horses  with  the  voice,  and  press- 
ing his  flanks  with  their  knees.  They  wear  a 
shield  on  the  left  arm.  Nothing  can  equal  the 
impetuous  charge  and  the  dashing  of  their 
steeds,  while  the  deadly  lance  of  the  rider 
strikes  like  lightning  before  its  attack  can  be 
parried. 

The  review  began  by  various  manoeuvres. 
There  was  archery  and  rifle  practice  first,  both 
kind  of  marksmen  hitting  their  mark  unerring- 
ly ;  but  this  was  nothing  to  what  was  coming. 
A  Comanche  warrior  had  just  picked  up  a  little 
white  shell,  about  the  size  of  a  watch.  He 
passed  by  me  holding  it  in  his  hands  and  show- 
ing it  to  Gournay  as  he  bade  him  tell  me   to 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        I4I 

look  out  tvi-  .^at  was  going  to  take  place.     I 
vafrched  the  Indian,  who  was  walking  slowly 

"  Ke  is  counting  his  steps,"  said  Gournay. 

"  So  I  see  ;  out  what  is  he  going  to  do  with 
the  shell  ?"  I  asked. 

"  You  will  see  presently ;  it  will  be  worth 
your  while  to  watch  him." 

When  the  Indian  had  counted  about  sixty 
paces,  he  turned  round  facing  us,  and  drawing 
himself  up,  brought  his  heels  together  with  mili- 
tary precision  ;  then  he  stretched  out  his  arm 
horizontally  till  it  was  level  with  his  shoulder. 
He  held  the  shell  between  his  ringers.  I  saw 
what  was  about  to  take  place,  and  shuddered 
involuntarily  at  the  thought. 

Three  Comanche  warriors  then  came  up  to 
me  and  asked  me  to  choose  one  of  their  number 
to  fire  upon  this  almost  human  mark.  Gour- 
nay added  in  a  whisper  that  this  was  an  honor 
which  I  could  not  refuse  to  accept.  I  would 
willingly  have  done  so,  but  chose  the  warrior 
at  my  right  hand.  He  took  three  steps  to  one 
side,  and  called  out  to  the  man  who  held  the 
shell  to  stand  perfectly  still.  As  his  forefinger 
ar.d  thumb  hid  nearlv  half  the  shell,  the  actual 


142       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

mark  was  scarcely  as  broad  as  a  five-franc 
piece. 

It  was  a  terrible  game,  and  I  could  not  help 
shuddering  as  I  looked  on  it.  Luckily  it  did 
not  last  long.  The  marksman  again  called  out 
in  Indian  a  word  that  meant  "  Attention,"  and 
immediately  levelled  his  rifle.  There  was  a 
moment  of  breathless  suspense,  all  eyes  were 
fixed  on  the  weapon — the  shot  was  heard, 
and  the  shell  flew  in  splinters.  A  thunder  of 
applause  followed  this  feat.  The  Indian  who 
had  held  the  mark  stooped  to  pick  up  one  of 
the  fragments,  and  having  examined  it,  brought 
it  up  to  me,  saying,  "  You  see,  he  hit  it  right 
in  the  centre."  And  so  it  was,  for  the  blue 
mark  which  the  ball  had  made  was  visible  on 
every  fragment. 

After  this,  came  a  tournament  no  less  curi- 
ous and  interesting.  There  were  all  kinds  of 
manoeuvres  and  feats  of  horsemanship.  Now 
the  riders  would  stand  with  one  foot  only  on 
their  horses'  backs,  and  while  galloping  at  the 
utmost  speed,  throw  lances  and  javelins  that 
seldom  failed  to  reach  their  aim.  Others 
jumped  from  horse  to  horse,  all  the  while 
riding    at   the    top   of  their  speed,    or   threw 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   1KENCH   CAPTALV.        {^ 

themselves  out  of  the  saddle,  and  dexterously 
remounted  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Others 
again  made  the  most  marvellous  throws  with 
the  terrible  lasso.  Then  came  a  sham  fight, 
real  jousts  where  the  riders  tried  to  unhorse 
one  another  like  the  knights  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  It  was  a  magnificent  sight,  this  desert 
amphitheatre  and  unequalled  feats  of  agility.  I 
could  not  choose  but  admire  it ;  and  as  I  gazed 
on  these  savages  grown  dexterous  in  the  art 
of  managing  these  fiery  steeds,  I  thought  of  the 
days  of  Cortez,  three  hundred  years  ago,  when 
the  conqueror  undertook  to  subdue  the  vast 
empire  of  Mexico  with  a  few  hundred  men, 
only  half  of  whom  bore  firearms,  and  a  cavalry 
force  of  sixteen  horse.  But  these  horses  and 
firearms  were  powerful  adjuncts  in  the  con- 
quest, and  struck  a  superstitious  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  Indians,  and  yet  in  our  days  the 
children  of  the  conquered  race  are  more  at 
home  than  those  of  the  conquerors  in  the  use 
of  these  instruments  of  war.  This  gave  me  a 
fertile  subject  for  meditation.  Might  not  a 
wise  and  enlightened  government — one  alive  to 
its  true  interests— have  cultivated  the  remark- 
able qualities  of  this  race,  in  order  to  civilize 


144       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

and  enlighten  them,  with  the  help  of  a  religion 
of  love  and  forgiveness,  instead  of  grinding  them 
down,  enslaving  them,  and  tyrannizing  over 
them,  and  thus  thrust  them  forever  hopelessly 
beyond  the  pale  of  all  possible  civilization  ? 

While  these  thoughts  occupied  my  mind, 
the  games  came  to  an  end,  and  the  principal 
chiefs  of  both  nations  gathered  together  to  de- 
bate the  proposed  expedition.  Instead,  how- 
ever, of  directing  it  toward  Louisiana,  as  the 
Comanche  chief  had  led  me  to  suppose  would 
be  the  case,  it  was  decided  to  make  a  raid  on 
the  western  frontier,  toward  New  Mexico. 
The  chief,  when  he  communicated  this  de- 
cision, also  told  me  that  as  soon  as  the  expedi- 
tion should  return  he  would  provide  me  with 
an  escort  as  far  as  the  Red  River,  whence  I 
could  easily  reach  Arkansas  and  then  Louisi- 
ana. I  made  believe  to  acquiesce  in  his  pro- 
posal, but  inwardly  determined  to  leave  at 
once  with  Gournay,  if  he  would  go  with  me,  as 
soon  as  the  expedition  had  started. 

The  Indians  left  the  following  night,  and 
when  I  awoke  the  next  morning  there  were 
only  the  women  and  children  and  a  few  old 
men  left  in  the  village.     I  spoke   of  my  plan 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 45 

to  Gournay,  who  coincided  in  it,  and  promised 
to  go  with  me  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  help 
me.  The  first  difficulty  was  to  procure  horses, 
for  the  Comanche  warriors  had  taken  all  their 
animals  with  them  for  war  purposes. 

"  I  know  where  I  can  find  some,"  said  Gour- 
nay. "  I  shall  start  to-day,  and  be  back  in  four 
days  with  all  we  require." 

"  But  suppose  the  Comanches  come  back  ?" 

"  There  is  no  fear  of  that.  Their  raid  will 
last  at  least  three  weeks,  if  not  a  month.  They 
are  gone  in  the  direction  of  the  Paso  del  Norte, 
and  have  to  cross  a  wilderness  of  sand,  and, 
besides  that,  they  will  be  obliged  to  use  all 
kinds  of  precautions  to  conceal  their  trail  from 
the  frontiersmen,  who  are  brave  and  intelligent 
men,  ever  ready  to  repulse  their  turbulent 
neighbors." 

Gournay  was  on  the  point  of  starting,  when 
two  of  the  old  men  who  had  been  left  behind 
intimated  to  him  that  he  must  not  leave  the 
village  until  the  return  of  the  expedition.  He 
came  to  tell  me  of  this.  "  What !"  I  cried, "  do 
they  want  to  keep  us  prisoners  ?" 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  but  they  are  afraid  that 
we  might  fall  in  witli  some  Spaniards  and  be- 


I46       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

tray  to  them  the  departure  of  the  warriors,  then- 
numbers  and  destination,  and  thus  ruin  the 
success  of  the  expedition.  I  think  we  can  not 
do  better  than  wait  patiently  a  little  longer,  for 
it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  start  against  their 
will.  The  whole  population  of  the  village 
would  be  at  our  heels — old  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  it  will  be  more  prudent  to  avoid 
such  annoyances." 

I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  this  further  delay, 
and  began  again  impatiently  to  count  the 
hours  that  seemed  to  pass  so  slowly,  when  an 
unexpected  incident  changed  the  aspect  of 
affairs. 

About  a  week  after  the  departure  of  the  ex- 
pedition, I  was  awakened  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  by  the  most  awful  shrieks  and  yells  and 
repeated  rifle-shots.  I  jumped  out  of  my  ham- 
mock, and  found  Gournay  listening  attentively 
at  the  door  of  our  hut. 

"  Monsieur,"  he  said,  "  some  Spanish  soldiers 
have  attacked  the  village.  Let  us  try  not  to 
get  mixed  up  in  the  row,  for,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, quarter  is  seldom  given,  and  friends 
and  foes,  white-skins  and  red-skins,  run  an 
equal  chance  of  slaughter." 


ADVENTURES   OF  A  FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        147 

Our  hut  was  beyond  the  group  of  other  wig- 
wams whence  came  the  din  that  had  awaken- 
ed us.  I  drew  aside  the  palm-leaf  mat  that, 
did  duty  both  for  door  and  window,  and  the  red 
light  of  the  burning  village  revealed  one  of 
those  scenes  of  carnage  so  lamentably  frequen; 
in  the  annals  of  the  American  frontiers.  Old! 
men,  women,  and  children  fled  from  their  kern- 
ing homes,  but  were  pursued  and  ruthlessly 
massacred  in  their  helplessness. 

On  looking  closer,  I  saw  that  the  Spaniards 
did  not  kill  indiscriminately  every  one  who  fell 
into  their  hands ;  those  whom  they  could  cap- 
ture alive  were  taken  as  prisoners  to  a  group 
of  men  standing  in  the  principal  square  of  the 
village,  where  they  were  then  guarded  by  some 
of  the  soldiers.  Not  far  from  this  group  was 
a  Spanish  officer,  wearing  the  insignia  of  a  colo- 
nel of  dragoons  a^d  mounted  on  a  fine  horse. 
He  appeared  as  if  directing  the  whole  thing, 
and  other  officers  constantly  came  up  to  him 
to  take  and  convey  his  orders.  I  made  up  my 
mind  at  once.  I  left  the  hut  with  Gournay, 
holding  a  white  handkerchief  on  high  as  a  flag 
of  truce.  As  he  saw  us  drawing  near,  the  colo- 
nel sent  forward  an  officer  to  see  what  we  wanted. 


148       ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

We  told  him  that  we  wished  to  speak  to  the 
colonel. 

The  officer  took  us  for  Spaniards,  and  re- 
ported us  accordingly  to  his  chief,  who  beck- 
oned to  us  to  come  near.  In  a  few  words  I 
told  him  how  I  happened  to  be  among  the 
Comanches. 

"  Very  good,  sefior,"  he  answered  ;  "  you  can 
give  me  a  longer  explanation  another  time. 
Stay  by  me  now  until  we  have  done  our  work." 

The  horrid  scene  lasted  all  night,  and  by 
sunrise  the  village  was  nothing  but  a  heap  of 
ashes,  in  which  bloody  corpses  were  half-buried 
at  short  intervals.  The  colonel  ordered  his 
men  to  rest  after  their  butcherv,  and  I  asked 
him  to  make  my  hut  his  headquarters.  It  was 
the  only  one  in  the  village  that  had  been  spared, 
as  the  subaltern  officer  who  had  first  spoken  to 
us  had  prevented  his  men  from  sacking  and 
burning  it  like  the  others.  The  colonel  accepted 
my  proposal,  and  while  he  was  taking  some  re- 
freshment I  told  him  the  whole  of  my  story 
As  soon  as  I  had  mentioned  that  I  was  a  French- 
man, he  said : 

"Well,  then,  speak  to  me  in  your  own  Ian. 
guage ;  I  understand  it  as  well  as  my  own." 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        I49 

This  was  true.  So  thenceforth  we  conversed 
in  French,  which  language  he  spoke  very  cor- 
rectly, with  a  slight  Southern  accent,  less  mark- 
ed, however,  than  that  of  many  a  Provencal 
or  Languedoc  man. 

"  You  are  lucky,"  said  he,  when  I  had  done, 
"  to  have  been  released  by  us,  for  the  Coman- 
ches  would  never  have  allowed  you  to  go  back 
in  peace  to  the  States  or  to  Mexico.  They  would 
first  have  tried  to  keep  you  away  themselves 
by  offering  you  all  kinds  of  bribes  and  advan- 
tages to  determine  you  to  adopt  their  own  mode 
of  life  ;  then,  if  that  wouldn't  succeed,  and  they 
discovered  the  impossibility  of  making  you 
give  up  your  country  and  your  faith,  they  would 
have  got  rid  of  you  under  some  pretext  or 
other,  or  without  any  pretext  at  all." 

The  colonel's  asseverations  only  half  con- 
vinced me,  notwithstanding  the  incidents  that 
had  seemed  lately  to  corroborate  such  a  state- 
ment; but  I  made  believe  to  be  of  his  opinion, 
and  expressed  my  gratitude  to  him  for  releas- 
ing me.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  would  add  to 
his  former  kindness  by  helping  me  to  continue 
my  journey,  already  so  unluckily  interrupted. 

"  I  think  that  will  be  easy,"  he  answered.   "  I 


150       ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

am  going  to  send  the  prisoners  to  Texas  under 
escort  of  my  infantry.  The  cavalry  and  I  will 
march  to  meet  the  Comanches  and  Apaches 
who  left  the  village  a  fortnight  ago,  and  who 
probably  found  some  unexpected  opponents  on 
the  road.  They  are  probably  flying  before  a 
detachment  of  troops  who  had  previous  infor- 
mation of  their  intended  raid.  We  hope  to 
place  them  between  two  fires,  and  have  done, 
for  a  while  at  least,  with  these  inveterate 
foes." 

It  was  only  then  that  I  learnt  that  the  Span- 
ish corps  sent  to  Texas  to  drive  us  out  of 
Camp  Asylum  had  been  employed  after  our 
voluntary  retreat  in  tracking  the  Indios  bravos 
who  infested  the  Spanish  frontiers.  The  ex- 
pedition of  the  Comanches  and  Apaches 
toward  the  Rio  del  Norte  and  the  valley  of 
New  Mexico  had  been  reported  to  the  gen- 
eral, who  had  sent  part  of  his  troops  to  protect 
the  points  that  expected  to  be  attacked,  and 
the  other  part  to  destroy  the  chief  settlement 

of  the  Comanches,  now  known  to  be  defence- 

i       * 
less." 

*  Marvellous  bravery  !  conduct  truly  worthy  of  a  Christian  ana 

civilized  nation  ! — Transi,.  Note, 


ADVENTURES   OF  A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        1 5  I 

This  manoeuvre  of  the  Spanish  general  was 
perfectly  successful  for  the  nonce,  as  I  aftei •• 
ward  learnt.  The  Comanches  and  Apaches 
were  thoroughly  defeated  that  time ;  but  the 
expedition  consisted  of  a  very  small  part  of  the 
two  nations,  and,  far  from  taking  their  defeat 
as  a  warning,  they  only  burned  the  more  for 
a  signal  vengeance.  They  bravely  took  the 
field  again  soon  after,  and  their  reprisals  were 
as  bloody  as  the  provocation.  Who  can  blame 
them  for  it  ? 

For  my  part,  I  accepted  the  Spanish  colo- 
nel's offer,  and  secured  two  good  horses  from 
among  the  spoils  captured  by  the  dragoons,  to 
whom  I  paid  a  reasonable  equivalent  for  the 
animals.  Gournay  and  I  started  with  the  pris- 
oners and  their  escort.  The  two  commanding 
officers,  a  lieutenant,  and  one  prisoner,  were  the 
only  ones  of  the  party  that  were  mounted.  I 
kept  close  to  them,  and  their  conversation,  which 
was  not  devoid  of  interest,  whiled  away  the  time 
on  this  tedious,  slow  march.  Our  days  were 
very  short,  and  we  halted  often.  I  was  happy 
to  be  enabled  sometimes  to  soothe  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  prisoners  and  restrain  the  excesses 
of  the  soldiery,  and  one  day  I  was  deputed  to 


152        ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

announce  to  them  through  Gournay  that  they 
would  soon  be  set  free. 

The  Comanches,  notwithstanding  their  ill- 
success,  had  managed  to  capture  many  prison- 
ers. Finding  themselves  hotly  pursued  by  the 
Spaniards,  they  decided  to  massacre  the  captives, 
but  the  Spanish  commandant  sent  them  word 
that  he  had  in  his  power  many  prisoners  of 
their  nation,  and  that  if  they  agreed  to  an 
exchange,  hostilities  would  be  suspended. 
After  some  hesitation,  the  Comanches  yielded, 
and  the  treaty  was  concluded.  The  captain 
commanding  our  escort  received  the  news  by 
special  messenger,  and  Gournay  and  I  were 
chosen  to  take  the  good  tidings  to  the  prison- 
ers. The  poor  Indians  fell  at  our  feet,  and 
could  not  do  enough  to  show  us  their  grati- 
tude. The  lieutenant  turned  back  the  next 
day  to  escort  the  prisoners  to  the  spot  where 
the  exchange  was  to  take  place,  while  the  cap- 
tain and  the  rest  of  the  soldiers  continued  their 
road  to  the  South.  When  we  had  reached  the 
spot  where  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  I  had 
parted  from  my  comrades,  the  captain  told  me 
that  we  were  not  far  from  Louisiana,  and 
that  if  I  liked  to  pay  a  guide  to  lead  us  as  far 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN         153 

as  Natchitoches,  one  of  his  men  would  under- 
take to  guide  us.  I  was  glad  to  accept  his 
offer,  so  we  shook  hands  and  said  God-speed 
to  the  Spaniards. 


CHAPTER   X. 

WE     REACH     THE     FRONTIERS     OF     LOUISIANA 

AN    UNEXPECTED     MEETING A    CARAVAN    OF 

AMERICAN  EMIGRANTS — I  MEET  THE  TOURNEL 

FAMILY  AND  MONSIEUR  COLLIN NEW  SCHEME 

FOR   COLONIZING    TEXAS. 

I  was  in  high  spirits,  happy  in  having  re- 
covered my  freedom,  and  in  the  thought  of 
soon  reaching  a  country  where,  instead  of  the 
life  of  the  wilderness,  I  should  see  that  of  the 
farm  and  of  civilization.  I  should  be  able  soon 
to  correspond  with  my  friends.  Gournay, 
however,  took  no  share  in  my  enthusiasm,  and 
looked  back  sadly  and  fondly  on  the  vast  un- 
peopled prairie  which  he  had  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  for  so  many  years,  where  he  had  ex- 
perienced so  many  different  emotions,  and 
which  now  he  might  never  see  again  ;  for  the 
dear  fellow  had  clung  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  a 
long-lost  and  recently-recovered  son,  whom  he 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 5$ 

had  sworn  never  to  leave  as  long  as  I  should 
allow  him  to  stay  with  me. 

In  all  his  long,  adventurous  life,  Gournay 
had  never  attached  himself  to  a  human  being, 
and  this  sudden  affection  for  a  stranger  was 
quite  extraordinary.  It  only  proves  that  the 
isolation  in  which  he  had  lived  so  long  had 
not  stifled  natural  affection  in  his  heart,  and 
that  it  wanted  but  an  opportunity  to  blossom 
forth  freely  and  fully.  I  was  strangely  touched 
by  his  uncommon  devotion,  and  easily  prom- 
ised him  that,  as  long  as  he  still  liked  me,  we 
should  never  live  apart. 

"  Oh  !  at  that  rate,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  stay  with 
you  till  I  die  ;  but  never  fear  that  I  shall  be  a 
burden  to  you,"  he  added,  after  a  few  moments' 
thought.  "  1  he  old  trapper,"  he  said  in  a 
whisper,  that  the  guide  might  not  hear  him, 
"knows  plenty  of  ways  by  which  to  provide 
for  himself  without  costing  another  man  any 
thing.  Besides,  it  will  not  be  for  long ;  his 
joints  are  stiffer  than  of  old,  his  sight  is  weaker, 
and  the  day  is  nigh  when  he  will  have  to  give 
up  his  accounts  to  the  Great  Spirit,  as  the 
Indians  say." 

"  Come,  now,  Father  Gournay,"  I  said,  "  put 


156       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

away  those  melancholy  thoughts.  You  are 
hearty  enough  yet,  and  I  hope  we  shall  have 
many  a  hunt  together  in  the  future." 

"  Oh  !  yes,  I  may  be  able  to  hunt,  as  they  do 
in  civilized  countries,  with  dogs,  who  pull  down 
your  game  for  you,  or  bring  it  right  under 
your  nose  !  I  may  be  able  to  shoot  a  few 
hares  and  partridges ;  but  that  is  not  what  I 
call  hunting.  For  my  part,  to  chase  the  buf- 
falo, the  elk,  or  the  grizzly  bear  over  the  wide 
prairie,  to  set  traps  for  the  beavers  on  the 
shores  of  the  great  lakes,  to  cross  mountains 
and  forests,  and  spend  whole  months  on  the 
trail  of  the  big  game  right  into  their  further- 
most retreats — that  is  what  I  call  hunting — real 
hunting ;  and  I  fear,"  he  added,  with  a  pathetic 
sigh,  "  that  I  shall  never  be  lit  for  it  again." 

The  time  seemed  less  tedious  as  we  spoke 
of  the  past  and  the  future,  and  we  had  already 
crossed  the  frontier  of  Texas  and  entered 
Louisiana  before  I  had  noticed  any  change  in 
the  scenery.  Everlasting  plains  before  and 
behind,  with  nothing  to  break  the  monotony 
but  herds  of  deer  and  antelope  fleeing  swiftly 
from  our  approach. 

After  one  day's  march  on    Louisiana  tern- 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        1 57 

tory,  we  began  to  meet  a  few  settlers,  then  to 
pass  plantations  of  various  kinds,  then  farms 
and  villages.  The  road  was  better  and  more 
distinguishable,  and  we  were  able  to  dismiss 
our  guide.  Toward  evening  we  knocked  at 
the  door  of  a  rather  nice-looking  house  on  the 
right  of  the  road,  and  begged  for  hospitality. 
The  owners  welcomed  us  with  great  courtesy, 
for  no  people  on  earth  are  so  thoroughly  hos- 
pitable as  the  Louisianians.  The  husband  was 
an  American,  a  Mr.  Brown ;  his  wife  was  a 
French  Creole  of  New  Orleans,  and  we  felt  at 
home  with  her  directly.  Gournay's  queer  cos- 
tume excited  the  children's  laughter  at  first ; 
but  I  had  no  sooner  explained  my  own  story 
and  my  meeting  with  him,  than  they  welcomed 
him  as  cordially  as  myself. 

I  slept  that  night  in  an  excellent  bed,  a 
thing  that  had  not  happened  to  me  ever 
since  I  left  Baltimore,  and  slept  soundly  till 
Gournay  came  on  the  morrow  to  wake  me  up. 
We  were  to  start  early,  so  as  to  reach  Natchi- 
toches the  same  day.  I  had  dismissed  the 
guide,  as  he  was  on  foot,  and  would  only  have 
delayed  us,  wishing  as  we  did  to  press  forward 
with  our  horses.     Mr.  Brown  accompanied  us 


158        ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

part  of  the  way  on  horseback,  and  told  us, 
when  he  turned  back;  that  about  twenty  miles 
further  we  should  find  a  delightful  valley, 
where  he  advised  us  to  make  our  mid-day  halt. 
We  pressed  forward,  and  after  four  hours' 
ride  reached  a  little  hill,  whence  we  had  a  view 
of  the  valley  which  Mr.  Brown  had  mentioned. 
But  what  was  my  astonishment  to  find  in  this 
place,  which  I  expected  would  be  a  complete 
solitude,  a  town,  or  rather  a  camp,  covering 
both  shores  of  a  pretty  stream  that  flowed 
through  the  valley.  Numerous  tents  were 
pitched  along  the  shore,  large  covered  wagons 
drawn  up  behind  the  tents,  and  herds  of  oxen 
and  horses  feeding  near  by,  while  slender 
smoke  columns  rose  here  and  there,  giving 
indications  of  as  many  impromptu  kitchens  in 
(.his  city  of  tents.  A  crowd  of  negroes  were 
gathered  a  little  way  off  under  a  grove  of 
poplars,  where  they  were  dancing  with  all  their 
might.  Their  merry  voices  and  the  sound 
of  their  instruments  the  wind  wafted  across 
to  us  when  we  stood  on  the  hill,  while 
a  few  white  men,  coolly  dressed  in  linen  or 
nankeen,  and  with  large  straw  hats,  were  stand- 
ing by,  cigar  in  mouth,  watching  the  grotesque 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        I  $y 

dance.  I  hastened  forward  to  enjoy  this  un- 
accustomed sight.     Gournay  said  to  me  : 

"  It  is  a  caravan  of  American  emigrants ;  I 
have  often  met  such  in  the  western  prairies." 

"  I  am  not  sorry  to  have  met  one,  too,"  I 
answered.  "It  must  be  very  interesting,"  and 
so  saying  I  spurred  forward  and  approached  a 
group  of  men,  who,  having  seen  our  horses, 
had  stopped  in  apparent  expectation  of  our 
greeting  them.  I  drew  near,  took  off  my  hat, 
and  began  to  speak,  when  I  was  suddenly 
interrupted  by  the  exclamation  : 

"  Good  heavens  !     It's  Captain ,  unless 

it's  his  ghost."     - 

I  glanced  at  the  man  who  had  just  spoken, 
and  who  came  forward  with  outstretched  hands 
toward  me.     It  was  now  my  turn  to  exclaim. 

"  What !  is  this  you,  my  dear  Collin  ?" 

I  jumped  off  my  horse  and  rushed  into  his 
arms.     After  our  first  transport,  Collin  said : 

"  So  you  are  not  dead  after  all !  We  all 
thought  you  must  have  been  devoured  by  can- 
nibals or  wild  beasts  !  How  did  you  manage 
to  escape  ?" 

"  I  will  tell  you  presently,  but  it  is  a  long 
story."  -   _  . 


tOO       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    0\PTAIN. 

The  other  men  stood  round  us  in  silence 
watching  this  scene  with  the  liveliest  interest 
One  of  them  made  a  sign  to  Collin,  who 
then  took  my  hand,  and,  turning  to  his  friends 
said : 

"  Allow    me,   gentlemen,   to    introduce    my 

friend,  Monsieur  ,   formerly  a  captain  in 

Napoleon's  army,  then  a  settler  in  Texas, 
whom  we  all  believed  dead,  and  of  whom  you 
have  often  heard  Monsieur  Tournel  and  my- 
self speak." 

He  then  named  the  gentlemen  to  me  ;  among 
them  was  Stephen  Austin,  of  Missouri,  whom 
1  shall  soon  have  to  mention  again.  Having 
gone  through  this  ceremony  of  introduction, 
as  indispensable  to  the  Anglo-American  mind 
in  the  wilderness  as  in  the  drawing-room,  I 
found  Collin's  companions  as  full  of  courtesy  as 
if  they  had  been  old  friends  welcoming  me 
after  a  long  absence.  We  all  took  the  direc- 
tion of  the  camp,  while  Gournay  saw  to  the 
horses.  As  soon  as  the  eagerness  of  my  new 
friends  allowed  me  to  whisper  a  word  to  Col- 
lin, I  said  to  him  : 

"You  mentioned  Monsieur  Tournel  just 
now.     Is  it  long  since  you  have  seen  him  ?" 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        l6l 

"  Not  more  than  an  hour,"  he  replied,  with  a 
smile. 

"  An  hour !  Then  he  must  be  here  !  Take 
me  to  him  at  once." 

"  We  are  on  the  road  to  him,  but  I  wanted 
to  surprise  you,  and  now,  by  my  inconsiderate 
speech,  I  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag.' 

"  Let  us  make  haste  ;  I  am  so  eager  to  see 
him  again." 

"  I  believe  we  shall  not  have  far  to  go,  for  I 
see  him  coming  toward  us  as  if  to  meet  us." 

We  were  by  him  in  an  instant,  and  Collin 
said,  addressing  him  : 

"  Let  us  see  if  you  will  know  this  truant 
again." 

Monsieur  Tournel  gazed  at  me  for  several 
minutes,  then  cried,  in  a  heartfelt  voice  : 

"  Yes,  I  know  him  well,  though  he  is  sadly 
changed." 

And  he  opened  his  arms  and  took  me  to  his 
heart  like  a  father.  I  was  so  overcome  that  I 
could  do  nothing  but  take  his  hands  and  press 
them  convulsively.  As  soon  as  I  grew  quieter 
I  asked  him  after  his  family. 

"  They  are  all  well,"  he  said,  "  but  you  shall 
judge  for  yourself  presently." 


162        ADVENTURES   OF    A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

"What !  is  it  possible  Madame  Tournel  is 
here?" 

"  Certainly,  and  so  are  all  the  children  except 
William,  who  stayed  in  Baltimore  with  his 
uncle  to  keep  up  our  business." 

"  And  how  is  it  that  we  thus  meet  in  the 
midst  of  the  wilderness,  a  thousand  miles  at 
least  from  your  home  ?" 

"  I  see  that  you  do  not  yet  understand  the 
American  character.  We  think  nothing  of 
any  distance,  but  this  would  involve  too  long 
an  explanation  just  now.  Let  us  go  to  my 
wife,  who  was  so  sure  of  your  death  that  she 
actually  had  masses  said  for  the  repose  of  your 
soul.     We  will  have  a  talk  later  on." 

He  took  me  to  a  commodious  tent,  which 
was  his  temporary  home.  Madame  Tournel 
and  the  children  greeted  me  with  as  much  de- 
light as  astonishment.  After  the  first  few  cha- 
otic moments  of  mutual  rejoicing,  I  had  to  tell 
my  story  from  beginning  to  end.  When  I  had 
done,  I  repeated  my  former  question  to  Mon- 
sieur Tournel. 

"  Well,  this  is  the  beginning,"  he  said,  "  of 
the  plan  I  often  spoke  of  before,  and  which  I 
should  have  undertaken  in  your  company  had 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        163 

the  scheme  of  General  Lallemand  seemed  to 
me  one  likely  to  succeed.     We  are  on  our  way 
to  found  a  colony  in  Texas,  only  we  have  taken 
all  the  precautions  and  the  means  which  your 
former  chiefs  neglected  to  take.    It  may  be — it 
often  is  so  in  these  cases — that  their  mistakes 
have  made  us  wise,  and  shown  us  the  true  way 
of  setting  about  our  plan.  When  I  say  our  plan, 
I  must  explain.     I  did  not  take  the  initiative  in 
this  undertaking,  and  even  when  I  wrote  to 
you  that  I  had  not  given  up  all  hope  of  settling 
in  Texas,  some  day,  I  still  looked  upon  that 
hope  as  a  golden  dream  not  likely  to  be  realized. 
But  it  was  realized  just  when  I  least  expected 
it  was  to  come  to  any  thing.     Mr.  Moses  Aus- 
tin, of  Missouri,  the  father  of  the  young  man 
who  was  with  Collin  when  he  met  you,  had 
the  same  hopes  as  I  had,  but,  unlike  me,  he  did 
not  only  make  plans  but  he  executed  them. 
They  are    now  in  a  fair  way  of  becoming  a 
prosperous    reality.     As  soon   as  he  heard  of 
the   treaty   between    the    United    States    and 
Spain    concerning  the  vexed  question  of  the 
possession  of  Texas,  he  addressed  a  petition  to 
the  Court  of  Madrid  for  leave  to  collect  from 
various    States   of  the   Union    three  hundred 


164       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

Catholic  families,  to  whom  the  Spanish  Gov 
ernment  was  to  grant  suitable  lands  for  the 
formation  of  an  agricultural  colony.  Spain 
was  quite  willing  to  do  so,  and  the  only  con- 
dition was  that  the  new  settlers  were  to  be 
in  all  cases  Catholics.  Mr.  Moses  Austin 
went  off  at  once  to  choose  the  place  for  the 
future  settlement,  while  his  son  took  a  jour- 
ney through  Louisiana,  Florida,  the  Carolinas, 
Virginia,  and  Maryland,  collecting  recruits,  or 
rather  partners,  to  assist  in  his  father's  scheme. 
Falling  in  with  our  friend  Collin,  he  easily 
persuaded  him  to  join,  and  Collin  mentioned 
me,  so  tTiat  when  Mr.  Stephen  Austin  came 
to  Baltimore  he  at  once  entered  into  nego- 
tiations with  me.  I  knew  his  father  by  repu- 
tation, and  knew  that  he  had  successfully 
worked  both  mines  and  plantations  in  his 
native  State  of  Missouri,  and  also  in  Louisiana, 
and  that  he  had  proved  his  talent  for  organi- 
zation in  all  these  undertakings.  Having  care- 
fully examined  his  plans  and  means  of  execut- 
ing them,  I  saw  that  his  scheme,  so  silently 
and  unostentatiously  begun,  and  so  thoroughly 
lawful  in  all  its  details,  had  every  chance  of 
success.     I  did  not  hesitate  to  join  my   for- 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        165 

tunes  to  his,  and  many  heads  of  families,  as 
you  see,  have  done  the  same,  and  have  started 
with  us  for  the  Promised  Land." 

"And  can  not  I  join  you  also?"  I  asked. 

"How  can  you  ask  ?"  cried  Monsieur  Tournel. 
'Of  course  that  is  settled.  Indeed,  it  was 
settled  in  my  mind  from  the  beginning,  for,  in 
spite  of  all  rumors,  I  never  believed  that  you 
were  dead,  and  kept  hoping  against  hope  that 
some  day  I  should  see  you  again.  When  the 
report  of  your  death  reached  Baltimore,  the 
French  consul  proposed  to  draw  your  money 
from  the  bank  for  the  use  of  your  heirs,  as 
he  said,  but  I  opposed  him,  as  your  locum  tenens, 
declaring  that  you  was  not  dead,  and  that  until 
valid  proof  of  your  death  should  be  adduced  I 
should  insist  upon  your  money  remaining  in  the 
bank.  We  had  to  go  to  law  about  it,  but 
the  verdict  was  in  my  favor,  and  your  money 
quietly  remained  in  the  bank  safes,  whence  you 
can  draw  it  whenever  you  please,  plus  the 
interest  accumulated  since  your  departure." 

"  Many  thanks,  my  dear  friend,"  I  answered  ; 
"  but  I  think  no  time  is  as  good  as  the  present 
for  drawing  it,  since  I  do  not  wish  to  enter  into 
partnership  with  you  empty-handed." 


CHAPTER    XL 

I     JOIN    THE     EMIGRANTS,    AND      RETURN     WITH 

THEM       TO      TEXAS OUR       SETTLEMENT       ON 

THE     RIO    BRAZOS — THE     WAR    OF    INDEPEND- 
ENCE  THE    PROSPERITY    OF   TEXAS. 

Our  dispositions  were  soon  taken.  Mon- 
sieur Tournel  introduced  me  to  the  rest  of  the 
emigrants,  who  welcomed  me  most  heartily. 
We  had  a  banquet  that  evening  in  honor  of 
my  admission  to  the  society  of  the  emigrants  ; 
then  followed  a  "  tea,"  and  a  kind  of  impro- 
vised ball,  for  many  of  our  companions,  like 
Monsieur  Tournel,  had  brought  their  wives  and 
families  with  them.  We  broke  up  camp  the 
following  day,  and  once  more  I  took  the  road 
toward  Texas. 

Old  Gournay  was  delighted  to  return  to  his 
beloved  solitudes.  It  was  with  many  a  sore 
misgiving  that  he  had  consented  to  follow  me 
to  a  civilized  country,  where  he  feared  that  I 
meant  to  settle  for  good  and  all ;  but  now  that 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        1 67 

he  was  again  going  to  see  the  country  of  his 
choice,  where  he  could  still  sometimes  hunt 
the  buffalo  or  the  elk,  he  seemed  to  feel  at  least 
ten  years  younger.  Of  course  it  may  be  sup- 
posed that  in  my  history  of  my  sojourn  among 
the  Indians  the  old  Canadian  had  figured 
somewhat  prominently,  and  from  this  day  for- 
ward he  became  the  special  object  of  Madame 
Tournel  and  her  children's  solicitude.  She 
called  him  her  countryman,  which  flattered  him 
immensely ;  and,  not  to  be  behindhand,  he  as- 
sured her  that  his  grandfather  had  lived  long  in 
Acadia  before  he  had  settled  in  Upper  Canada. 
And,  in  truth,  certain  ways  of  speaking,  and 
their  unmistakable  Norman  accent,  betrayed 
the  common  origin  of  old  Gournay  anc: 
Madame  Tournel. 

Our  progress  was  necessarily  but  slow,  as  we 
had  such  an  immense  train  of  possessions  ;  we 
scarcely  got  over  more  than  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  miles  a  day,  and  every  Sunday,  and  some- 
times once  a  week  besides,  we  made  a  whole 
day's  halt.  It  was  quite  a  month  since  I  had 
met  the  caravan,  when  at  last  we  reached  the 
shores  of  the  Rio  Brazos,  where  Mr.  Moses 
Austin  was  awaiting  us,  and  where  he  had  al- 


l6S        ADVENTURES    OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

ready  mapped  out  our  new  settlement.  Here 
we  were,  therefore,  once  more  permanently 
domiciled,  and  though  we  had  some  rough  days 
to  get  through,  our  perseverence  was  at  length 

drowned  with  full  success. 
Not  long  after  our  arrival   I    married  Elea- 

lor,  Monsieur  Tournel's  eldest  daughter,  whom 
I  had  first  known  at  Baltimore  as  a  girl 
of  fourteen.  This  union  strengthened  the 
filial  affection  with  which  I  had  from  the 
beginning  regarded  Monsieur  and  Madame 
Tournel.  Collin's  plantation  was  next  to 
ours,  and  we  worked  both  in  common  under 
the  superintendence  of  my  father-in-law  and 
Collin,  and  the  help  of  the  latter's  eldest  son, 
who,  as  well  as  myself,  soon  learnt  all  that  we 
needed  to  perfect  us  in  our  new  calling. 
Many  of  our  neighbor's  plantations  suffered 
from  the  inroads  of  the  Indians  during  the 
first  years  of  our  colony.  Our  own  always 
escaped,  thanks  to  Gournay's  inexhaustible 
vigilance.  We  called  him  our  keeper-in-chief, 
and  his  services  were  really  valuable  ;  he  often 
protected  us  from  the  Comanches'  stratagems, 
or  plainly  intimated  to  them  that  it  was  in 
meir  interests  to  keep  the  peace  with  us.     As 


ADVENTURES    OK    A    IKKNCII    CAPTAIN.         l<Sg 

years  went  on,  two  of  Monsieur  Collin's  daugh- 
ters married  Monsieur  Tournel's  two  youngest 
sons,  so  that  our  families  were,  as  it  were, 
merged  into  one,  whose  amicable  relations 
have  since  contributed  powerfully  to  our  con- 
tinued prosperity. 

We  had  the  misfortune,  some  time  after  the 
settlement  of  the  colony,  to  lose  our  head  and 
founder,  Mr.  Moses  Austin,  but  his  sons,  John 
and  Stephen,  bravely  continued  his  work  with 
that  energy  and  perseverence  which  are  always 
infallibly  rewarded  with  success.  We  had 
hardly  settled  in  Texas  before  Mexico  defini- 
tively shook  off  the  Spanish  yoke  and  pro- 
claimed their  independence.  The  new  gov- 
ernment confirmed  the  grants  made  by  the 
Spaniards  to  Mr.  Austin,  and  new  colonists 
from  the  United  States  soon  came  to  swell  our 
numbers  or  to  people  other  parts  of  Texas. 
When  Mexico  constituted  itself  a  republic,  ac- 
cording to  the  pattern  of  the  United  States, 
Texas  was  not  thought  strong  enough  yet  to 
become  a  separate  State,  so  it  was  joined  to 
the  province  of  Chohahuila,  and  re-baptized 
the  State  of  Chohahuila-y-  Texas. 

Before  six  years  had  gone  by,  our  settlements 


170       ADVENITKKS   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

had  prospered  so  well  and  our  population  had 
so  rapidly  increased  that  Texas  was  thrice  as 
densely  peopled  as  the  province  of  Chohahuila, 
to  which  we  had  been  annexed.  We  then 
claimed  to  be  erected  an  independent  State, 
but  Mexico,  instead  of  admitting  us  to  her  con- 
federation, resorted  to  violence  to  force  us  to 
remain  subservient  to  Chohahuila,  or  rather 
the  government,  as  if  ashamed  of  its  fears, 
tried  by  stratagem  to  destroy  our  young  colony. 
Under  different  pretexts,  several  small  detach- 
ments of  troops  were  sent  into  Texas,  until,  un- 
known to  the  Texans  themselves,  the  strongest 
positions  of  the  State  were  all  in  the  hands  of 
Mexican  garrisons.  The  exactions  of  the 
Mexican  authorities  grew  worse  and  worse, 
and  excited  such  universal  discontent  that  an 
open  revolt  soon  broke  out. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1832  a  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  colonists  took  up  arms,  and, 
under  the  direction  of  John  Austin,  carried 
the  fort  of  Velasco.  Not  long  after,  the  colonists 
of  Nacogdoches  attacked  the  fort  of  that  name, 
took  it,  and  drove  out  the  Mexican  garrison.  By 
the  end  of  the  year  not  a  single  Mexican  sol- 
dier remained  on  Texan  territory.     Then    we 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 ;  T 

held  a  convention  in  the  rising  city  of  San 
Felipe  de-Austin,  and  drew  up  a  petition  to 
the  Mexican  Government,  demanding  separa- 
tion from  the  State  of  Chohahuila.  General 
Stephen  Austin  went  to  Mexico  to  present  the 
petition  and  open  negotiations.  The  negotia- 
tions lingered,  and  the  General  left  Mexico  for 
Texas.  He  was  arrested  when  not  a  hundred 
miles  from  Mexico,  taken  back  to  the  city  and 
thrown  into  prison,  where  he  remained  till 
1835.  He  was  then  restored  to  freedom  be- 
cause he  was  not  supposed  to  be  either  suffi- 
ciently energetic  to  direct  an  insurrection,  or 
influential  enough  to  stop  it. 

His  return  to  our  midst,  &Z  calm  and  firm 
resolve,  filled  us  all  with  strength  and  confi- 
dence. A  general  assembly  met  at  San  Felipe, 
and  in  eleven  days  determined  upon  all  the 
measures  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the 
country.  A  solemn  declaration  was  adopted, 
in  which  were  set  forth,  in  grave  and  well- 
weighed  words,  the  grounds  upon  which  the 
Texan  people  took  up  arms.  Stephen  Austin 
was  sent  to  the  United  States  to  claim  the 
help  of  the  American  Government,  and  the 
command    of   the    troops   was    entrusted    to 


1 72       ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN. 

Samuel  Houston,  who  chose  me  for  his  aide- 
de-camp. 

The  campaign  was  opened  by  one  of  those 
acts  of  heroic  bravery  which  drive  a  nation 
wild  with  enthusiasm,  and  thus  make  it  capable 
of  the  greatest  victories. 

The  town  of  Bejar  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mexican  general  Cos,  who  had  under  him  a 
garrison  of  fifteen  hundred  veterans.  The 
Texans  besieged  him,  but  finding,  after  several 
ineffectual  attempts,  that  they  lacked  the  neces- 
sary war  material  with  which  to  reduce  a  town 
defended  by  so  numerous  and  well-disciplined 
a  garrison,  they  determined  to  raise  the  siege. 
Just  then  one  of  those  men  whose  heroism 
rises  superior  to  all  obstacles  came  forward 
and  promised  that  if  three  hundred  of  his  coun- 
trymen would  stand  by  him  to  the  death,  he 
would  engage  to  storm  the  town.  This  man 
was  the  intrepid  Milans,  whose  bravery  had 
already  made  him  famous  and  popular.  Three 
hundred  men  at  once  joined  the  forlorn  hope, 
and  with  their  help,  Milans  made  good  his 
promise.  The  town  was  taken  by  storm,  even 
the  citadel  capitulated,  and  General  Cos,  with 
his  fifteen  hundred  Mexicans,  marched  out  past 


ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        1 73 

Milans'  victorious  handful  of  men,  half  of  whom 
had  paid  for  their  daring  with  their  lives. 
Milans  himself  had  found  death  in  the  midst 
of  his  glorious  triumph.  The  Texans  call  him 
their  Leonidas,  and,  in  honor  of  his  bravery, 
one  of  the  thirty-two  counties  forming  their 
Republic  was  called  after  him. 

The  Mexican  president,  Santa  Anna,  was 
greatly  mortified  at  this  insult  offered  the 
Mexican  arms,  and  anxious  to  take  signal  ven- 
geance for  it,  he  entered  the  Texan  territory  on 
the  2 1  st  of  February,  at  the  head  of  an  army 
of  six  thousand  men,  divided  into  three  corps. 
Upon  this  the  Texans  again  called  a  conven- 
tion at  Washington,  on  the  Rio  Brazos,  and 
unanimously  proclaimed  Texan  independence. 

Santa  Anna,  in  the  meanwhile,  attacked 
Bejar  and  retook  the  city  from  a  garrison  of  a 
hundred  and  eighty  men,  who  were  all  mas- 
sacred in  the  Alamo  fort,  after  having,  during 
the  siege,  killed  no  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
Mexicans. 

"  Another  such  victory,  and  we  are*  undone  !" 
Santa  Anna  was  known  to  have  said  on  this 
occasion.  But  these  words  were  still  more  ap- 
plicable   in    the  case  of  the  siege  of  Goliad, 


174       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

for  this  town  having  capitulated  after  a  pro- 
longed and  honorable  resistance,  Santa  Anna, 
who  was  then  at  Bejar,  treacherously  broke 
the  treaty,  and  ordered  a  wholesale  massacre 
of  the  prisoners  to  the  number  of  four  hun- 
dred. 

This  horrible  treachery  aroused  anew  the 
courage  of  the  colonists,  and  while  Santa 
Anna  thought  us  demoralized  and  unable  to 
offer  any  resistance  should  he  overrun  our 
country,  Houston's  army  suddenly  confronted 
him  on  the  plains  of  San  Jacinto,  on  the  20th 
of  April,  1836.  •  Santa  Anna,  who  had  effected 
a  junction  with  Cos,  purposed  to  give  us  battle 
the  next  day  ;  but  we  advanced  to  meet  him, 
marching  in  the  midst  of  a  dead  silence. 
When  we  got  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
the  enemy,  General  Houston  shouted : "  Friends, 
remember  Alamo  /" 

With  this  cry  of  vengeance  a  murderous 
fire  was  poured  upon  the  Mexican  troops, 
who  gave  way  at  once,  and  before  they  could 
rally  we  were  upon  them  on  all  sides,  charg- 
ing them  with  our  bayonets.  The  carnage  was 
awful.  In  eighteen  minutes  we  were  masters 
of  all  the  enemy's  baggage,  standards,  and  artil-  . 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.        17$ 

lery.  Half  the  Mexican  army  remained  on 
the  field  of  battle.  The  other  half  laid  down 
their  arms. 

Though  I  have  seen  many  a  fight  during 
the  seven  years  of  my  service  under  the  Em- 
pire, I  had  never  witnessed  such  wild  ex- 
citement. I  felt  twenty  years  younger.  Our 
Texans  were  real  heroes,  and  what  is  most 
wonderful  in  this  feat  of  a  handful  of  volun- 
teers, and  proves  that  the  enemy  did  not  try 
to  resist  us,  is  the  fact  that  we  had  only  two 
soldiers  killed  and  twenty-three  wounded. 

Santa  Anna  had  fled  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fight.  He  was  found,  the  next  day,  hiding  in  the 
tall  prairie  grass.  He  humbly  kissed  the  hand  of 
the  poor  soldier  who  found  him,  and  tried  to 
bribe  the  others  with  unlimited  gifts  of  gold 
and  jewels.  He  wept  when  they  resisted  his 
offers,  and  when  he  was  carried  before  Hous- 
ton, he  said  to  him,  significantly : 

"  You  were  born  for  great  things  ;  you  have 
conquered  the  Napoleon  of  the  West? 

His  conscience  smote  him  about  the  massa- 
cre of  Goliad,  and  he  feared  to  be  called  to  ac- 
count for  it,  but  still,  from  policy  or  from  pity, 
General    Houston   promised   to   protect  him. 


iy(j        AD\  ENTIRES    OF    A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

Such  was  the  war  that  assured  Texan  inde- 
pendence. 

The  victory  of  San  Jacinto  endowed  Houston 
with  a  popularity  that  eclipsed  that  of  Stephen 
Austin,  the  founder  of  Texan  self-govern- 
ment, and  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Re- 
public in  September,  1836,  and  his  name  was 
given  to  a  city  which  was  intended  to  become 
the  capital  of  the  Republic.  The  United  States 
at  once  recognized  Texas  as  an  independent 
Republic.  France  followed  their  example  in 
1839:  so  did  England,  Holland,  and  Belgium. 

In  1846,  however,  Texas  voluntarily  became 
a  State  of  the  Union,  and  this  change  in  its 
destiny  has  materially  contributed  to  increase 
its  prosperity.  The  same  applies  to  our  settle- 
ment, founded  by  my  friends  Tournel  and 
Collin,  although  we  had  our  share  of  the  losses 
and  annoyances  inseparable  from  such  settle- 
ments in  the  first  years  of  their  existence  One 
of  these  losses  was  the  death  of  Monsieur 
Tournel,  my  father-in-law,  which  took  place  a 
few  days  after  the  declaration  of  independence. 
And  since  misfortunes  never  come  single,  we 
soon  had  to  mourn  the  death  of  Monsieur 
Collin,  so  that  I  was  left  alone  in  charge  of  the 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH    CAPTAIN.         I  77 

plantations.  Notwithstanding  the  experience 
I  had  gained  in  the  management  of  the  estate, 
the  task  would  have  been  beyond  my  own  per- 
sonal powers  had  I  not  been  assisted  by  my 
brother-in-law,  Monsieur  Collin's  son-in-law. 
My  eldest  son  was  soon  able  to  help,  too,  and  for 
the  last  ten  years  has  entirely  taken  my  place. 
I  am  now  living  like  a  country  gentleman 
in  a  pretty  house  which  I  built  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rio  Brazos.  My  wife  watches  over  the 
education  of  our  grandchildren  and  our  own 
younger  children,  for  my  eldest  son  is  already 
married  and  the  father  of  a  family.  My 
mother-in-law,  Madame  Tourn'el,  though  very 
aged,  is  still  strong  and  healthy,  and  helps  my 
wife  to  take  care  of  the  young  people.  We 
often  talk  of  her  countryman,  dear  old  Gour- 
nay,  whom  she  was  very  fond  of,  and  who  died 
about  twenty  years  ago,  leaving  all  his  posses- 
sions to  Madame  Tournel,  on  condition  that  she 
would  have  masses  said  for  the  repose  of  his  soul. 
The  good  old  man's  worldly  possessions  were 
more  than  any  one  had  an  idea  of.  They  con- 
sisted of  a  little  leather  bag,  from  which  he 
never  parted,  and  which  was  found  after  his 
death  to  be  full  of  gold  dust,  gathered  during 


178        ADVENTURES    OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

his  forty  years'  roving  commerce,  and  valued 
at  nearly  five  hundred  dollars. 

Madame  Tournel,  who  by  her  kind  advice 
had  succeeded  in  winning  the  old  trapper  back 
to  his  religious  duties  and  belief,  and  had  caused 
him  to  receive  the  last  sacraments  before  his 
death,  accepted  the  legacy  and  minutely  fu' 
filled  the  old  man's  wishes. 

One  of  my  mother-in-law's  chief  grievances 
during  the  first  years  of  our  settlement  in  Texas 
was  the  absence  of  any  priest  in  our  neighbor- 
hood. To  hear  mass  it  was  necessary  to  under- 
take a  long,  and  often  dangerous,  journey  to  San 
Antonio  de  Bejar,  or  Nacogdoches,  the  only 
two  places  where  there  were  resident  priests.  Of 
course  the  injunction  to  bring  our  best  Cath- 
olic families  into  Texas  only  held  good  for  the 
first  batch  of  colonists.  Those  who  joined  us 
since,  from  the  States,  belong  to  all  the  various 
sects  of  the  Union.  At  last,  after  the  declara- 
tion of  independence,  a  body  of  French  Laza- 
rist  missionaries  settled  near  us.  It  was  a  great 
comfort  to  us  all,  especially  to  my  wife  and 
mother-in-law.  I  say  to  us  all,  because  I  had 
long  wished  seriously  to  speak  to  a  priest.  I 
had  never  forgotten  the  sermons  I   had   heard 


ADVENTURES   OF   A    FRENCH   CAPTAIN.        1 79 

long  ago  in  Baltimore,  and  since  my  marriage 
my  wife  and  her  mother  had  strongly  urged  me 
to  practice  the  religion  in  which  I  had  been 
born,  but  to  which  I  had  been  heretofore  as  a 
stranger. 

I  happened  to  be  i:i  Houston  in  July,  1839, 
for  the  meeting  of  Congress,  of  which  I  was  a 
member,  when  the  two  first  French  mission- 
aries arrived.  They  were  joyfully  welcome, 
and  one  of  them  preached  in  the  Capitol,  in 
the  Hall  of  Representatives,  before  both  Houses 
of  Congress.  His  discourse,  which  lasted  an 
hour  and  a  half,  was  generally  liked,  even  by 
those  of  opposite  beliefs.  I  went  to  see  him 
after  the  sermon,  and  when  he  heard  that  I  was 
a  Catholic  and  a  Frenchman,  the  good  mission- 
ary embraced  me  with  tears,  and  said: 
"  You  are  doubly  my  brother,  then." 
It  was  he  who  heard  my  confession,  aw  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  keep  him  with  us 
but  his  affairs  made  his  presence  necessary  in 
New  Orleans.  I  took  him  home,  however,  and 
he  spent  two  days  with  us,  where  he  was  wel- 
comed as  a  father  returning  to  the  bosom  of  his 
family.  Other  missionaries  have  come  to  Texas 
since  then. 


I  SO       ADVENTURES   OF   A   FRENCH    CAPTAIN. 

Galveston  has  been  made  a  suffragan  See  of 
the  Archbishopric  of  New  Orleans,  but  the 
number  of  apostolic  laborers  is  still  very  far 
from  proportionate  to  the  extent  of  the  diocese, 
which  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  of  France, 
and  has  a  large  Catholic  population,  scattered 
in  every  direction. 

We  have  built  a  chapel  on  our  plantation, 
and  every  Sunday  and  holiday  a  French  priest 
comes  to  say  mass  for  our  French  and  Catholic 
colony,  for  three  or  four  other  planters,  our 
neighbors,  are  Lousiianians  of  French  extrac- 
tion, and  our  united  families,  though  entirely 
Texan  in  sympathy,  still  retain  a  tender  rever- 
ence for  our  mother  country. 

For  my  part,  I  could  not  bear  to  die  before 
seeing  France  again,  especially  when  I  learnt 
that  the  Empire  had  been  re-established,  and 
the  eagle,  under  whose  auspices  I  had  fought, 
again  reinstated  on  our  military  standard. 
Now,  that  this  wish  of  my  heart  has  been  ful- 
filled, I  am  on  the  point  of  returning  to  my 
new  home,  where  I  hope  to  end  my  days  in 
peace  in  the  bosom  of  my  family. 

FINIS. 


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